#ThisDayThatYear: Balaji becomes the first bowler to clinch IPL hat-trick
On this day, former Indian bowler Laxmipathy Balaji scripted history in the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League. Playing for Chennai Super Kings, Balaji became the first ever bowler to grab a hat-trick in IPL. CSK locked horns with Kings XI Punjab in the 31st match of IPL 2008. Let us have a look at how the match panned out.
CSK posted 181/4 at the end of 20 overs
CSK lost the openers early on after KXIP put them into bat. Suresh Raina brought back the momentum alongside S Badrinath, who ended up scoring 64. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni propelled them to 181/4 at the end, having racked up an unbeaten 60 off 43 balls. Sreesanth was the pick of KXIP's bowlers as he claimed two scalps for 29 runs.
KXIP fell short by 18 runs, chasing 182
Shaun Marsh got KXIP off to a flier, however, CSK bowlers made early inroads from the other end. Ramnaresh Sarwan added 66 runs with the former before Bajaji dismissed him in the 13th over. In the same over Balaji uprooted Marsh, who scored 58 off 38 deliveries. Although Irfan Pathan scored a 18-ball 40, KXIP fell 18 runs short to lose the encounter.
Balaji took the hat-trick in the final over
Having already snapped up a couple of wickets, fast bowler Balaji was on a roll. He clinched the hat-trick in the final over of the innings by removing Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla and VRV Singh on consecutive deliveries. While Pathan and Piyush were caught in the field, wicket-keeper Dhoni took Singh's catch behind the stumps. Balaji also finished with a spell of 5/24.
Balaji was adjudged Player of the Match
Balaji was adjudged the Player of the Match for his spell-binding bowling display. He finished the tournament with 11 wickets from nine games at an average of 26.00. Makhaya Ntini and Amit Mishra also took a hat-trick each that season.
