Abhimanyu Mithun
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Records, statistics
2009, 2019: Hat-tricks in all three formats
Prasad RS, Nov 30, 2019: The Times of India
From: Prasad RS, Nov 30, 2019: The Times of India
Summoned a day earlier by Central Crime Branch (CCB) for questioning in the spot-fixing scandal in Karnataka Premier League, Abhimanyu Mithun came up with another shocker, albeit of a different kind.
The 30-year-old former India pacer, the first international cricketer asked for by the CCB in the investigation, took five wickets in an over -- which included four dismissals in as many deliveries. Mithun finished with 5 for 39, helping Karnataka storm into the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 with an eight-wicket win over Haryana.
Friday’s exploits make him become the first Indian to have taken a hat-trick in all domestic competitions -- Ranji, Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20. He had bagged his first-class hat-trick against Uttar Pradesh back in the 2009 season. The Vijay Hazare final against Tamil Nadu in Bengaluru last month saw Mithun get to a hat-trick in the List A format before repeating this feat in the domestic T20 competition.
“I knew of this feat of mine, it’s always nice to contribute in your team’s cause,” he said later, refusing to comment on anything related to Thursday’s CCB summon.
Before his show on Friday, Mithun had only picked 5 wickets from 7 outings in this competition. “The trick in the last over was to vary my pace and not give them much space to free their arms,” he added.
It was a see-saw game for Mithun. Haryana’s Himanshu Rana (61, 6x4, 2x6) and Chaitanya Bishnoi (55, 7x4, 1x6) powered their side to an imposing 194-8 in their 20 overs, and Karnataka’s target would have been in excess of 200 if not for a blazing final over bowled by him.
After being hit for 37 runs in his first three overs, Mithun came back in style in the 20th. He began by dismissing Rana — caught by Mayank Agarwal in the midwicket region. In his second ball, Mithun got rid of Rahul Tewatia (32, 6x4) caught at long-on fence by Karun Nair. Sumit Kumar was Mithun’s hat-trick victim when he was caught at short fine-leg region by Rohan Kadam. He had four in four when Amit Mishra was caught at covers by K Gowtham. The fifth delivery was a wide, then Jitesh Saroha drove him for a single off the next. Mithun bagged his fifth wicket when Jayant Yadav was pouched by keeper KL Rahul in the final delivery.
The target of 194 eventually proved too little for Karnataka who chased it down in just 15 overs.
R Ashwin’s allround show — 1 for 7 with the ball followed by an innings of 31 — and Washington Sundar’s (54, 3x4, 3x6) helped Tamil Nadu defeat Rajasthan by 7 wickets in the other semifinal.
BRIEF SCORES: Haryana 194/8 (H Rana 61, C Bishnoi 55; Mithun 5-39) vs Karnataka 195/2 in 15 overs (KL Rahul 66, D Padikkal 87).
Rajasthan 112/9 (V Shankar 2/13, R Ashwin 1-7). Tamil Nadu 116-3 in 17.5 overs (W Sundar 54 n.o., R Ashwin 31).
