After the dismissal of Lendl Simmons, Pollard’s barrage in the sixth over took the West Indies from 62-4 to 92-4, and the home side was once again coasting to victory.
Sri Lanka leg-spinner Akila Dananjaya endured the highs and lows of Twenty20 cricket as he claimed a hat trick in the first international in Antigua, including the wicket of West Indies hero Chris Gayle for a first-ball duck, before being struck for six sixes in an over by Kieron Pollard.
The West Indies won the match by four wickets with 41 balls to spare on Wednesday, posting a total of 134-6.
When Dananjaya dismissed Evin Lewis (28), Gayle, and Nicholas Pooran (0) with consecutive deliveries in the fourth over, he became just the 15th player and fourth Sri Lankan to take a T20 international hat trick.
Pollard became just the second player after Yuvraj Singh to hit six sixes in a T20 international over, and the third player to accomplish the feat in all international formats. He had no time to focus on his new-found success before it turned to notoriety: in his next over, he was hit to all parts of the field by Pollard, who became just the second player after Yuvraj Singh to hit six sixes in an over in all international formats.
Yuvraj received the honour from England’s Stuart Broad in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, during which he had to wait 14 years for business.
“After the third one,” Pollard said, he felt six sixes was a chance.
He explained, “I just had to come out and back myself.”
“It was something the squad was in desperate need of. I just learned the hat trick and didn’t see it. However, I was always expected to come out and do what the team required at the time.”
Dananjaya’s ups and downs, including being struck for a seventh consecutive six by Jason Holder in his next over and seeing two catches dropped from his bowling, converted the West Indies’ seemingly simple chase for 132 to take a 1-0 series lead into an exciting spectacle.
After being sent in to bat, Sri Lanka just managed 131-9 in 20 overs. It was 86-3 at one stage, but after a brief rain delay, it crumbled, losing six wickets for 45 runs.
After play resumed, captain Angelo Mathews (5) was out in the first over, and Dinesh Chandimal (11) was out three balls later. When Thisara Perera (1) was dismissed in the 17th over, Sri Lanka dropped to 106-6, then 111-7 when Hasaranga de Silva was dismissed for 12.
Sri Lanka fell just short of a competitive total after two runouts in the final over.
When Lewis hit the last three balls of the first over for six, the West Indies appeared to be on their way to quickly chasing down Sri Lanka’s total. However, Dananjaya’s hat trick saw the hosts fall from 52-0 to 52-3, with Gayle succumbing to the first ball of his first T20 in two years.
After the dismissal of Lendl Simmons, Pollard’s barrage in the sixth over took the West Indies from 62-4 to 92-4, and the home side was once again coasting to victory.