Watch: Sam Curran celebrates hat-trick during SL vs ENG 1st T20I in Pallekele

The left-arm pace all-rounder of the England side, Sam Curran, has been in superb touch during the T20 format, having won the International League T20 (ILT20) for the Desert Vipers and made a vital contribution for the Sydney Sixers. He picked up seven wickets for the Vipers in 11 innings at an economy rate of 8.51, and had five wickets at 19.20 in the BBL. 

Turning up for the England side during the opening T20I against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka, smashed the left-arm pacer for 33 runs in two overs with a flurry of boundaries before Curran marked a special return with a hat-trick, which went viral around the social media platforms.

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On the fourth ball of the 16th over, he sent back the opposition captain, Dasun Shanaka, for 20 runs in 16 balls. He went for the yorker but hasn’t been able to nail it. But it was full enough to stop the batters from getting under it, as Shanaka didn’t get the full elevation and was taken by Harry Brook.

Sam Curran celebrates T20I hat-trick vs Sri Lanka in Pallekele 

The very next delivery was another slower one to which Maheesh Theekshana, on a first-ball duck, chipped the bowler down the ground as Jamie Overton took the simplest of catches at long-on region. That brought the bowler a chance of celebrating a hat-trick.

Watch the video here: 

The sixth and final delivery of the 16th over was a great delivery that broke the stumps of Matheesha Pathirana for another first-ball duck. This time, the bowler was able to nail the yorker on the off-stump from round the wicket, as Pathirana swung hard and got the off-stump for a beating. Sri Lanka were bundled out for 133 runs in 16.2 overs as Curran finished with figures of 3/19 in his four overs.

In reply, England went off to a flying start in the chase with 36 runs coming in less than three overs. Phil Salt smashed 42 runs in 30 balls while Tom Banton contributed 29 runs in just 15 balls. Pathirana was excellent and seemed to be back in his prime.

Brief Scores: England 125/4 (Phil Salt 46, Tom Banton 29, Eshan Malinga 2/24) beat Sri Lanka 133 (Kushal Mendis 37, Adil Rashid 3/19) by 11 runs (DLS).