Shamar Springer joins Mujeeb to achieve a historic feat in AFG vs WI T20Is

Shamar Springer and Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked hattricks in Dubai [Source: Fancode, ACBofficials/X.com]

History was created in Dubai on Thursday evening as Afghanistan and West Indies met in the third and final T20I of the series to in their T20 World Cup preparation, as the fast bowler Shamar Springer picked a hat-trick in the penultimate over of the series to help his team win the solitary match in the series by 15 runs.

Thanks to this hat-trick, which came within 24 hours of Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s hat-trick for the opponents, helping his team to a series win, the duo set a unique and unprecedented record of clinching multiple hat-tricks in a single T20I series.

Shamar Springer’s epic hat-trick sets an unprecedented record

With 25 runs required from 12 balls for Afghanistan to win the T20I series 3-0, Shamar Springer was tasked with bowling the 19th over to a set Rahmanullah Gurbaz at 71*(57), while the Asians still had 6 wickets in hand.

The bowler was right on the money from ball one, with a wide delivery outside off to make Gurbaz reach and slog-sweep it over the deep square-leg, only to find Matthew Forde, who took an athletic catch to get rid of the set batter. 

Shamar Springer stuck to his line on the next ball, when captain Rashid Khan sliced one down the throat of Kharry Pierre at deep backward point and backed it up by cleaning up Shahidullah’s stumps on the third ball to complete his hat-trick on a slower yorker.

Shamar Springer becomes the 1st ever

This hat-trick made him the third West Indian to pick a T20I hat-trick after Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd. With the second hat-trick of the series alongside Mujeeb’s three wickets, scalping Evin Lewis, Johnson Charles and Brandon King in the previous game, this became the first-ever account of multiple hat-tricks in a T20I series, with two ICC full member nations involved.

Shamar Springer finished with the figures of 4/20, and the West Indies won by 15 runs from the jaws of defeat. The series ended 2-1, and WI managed to grab some momentum with the T20 World Cup in sight.

How are WI and AFG preparing for the T20 World Cup?

The recently concluded three-match T20I series between the two sides in Dubai ended Afghanistan’s build-up to the big competition in India and Sri Lanka. Over the past few months, they have played the Asia Cup, which ended prematurely, followed by another below-par series against Bangladesh, before eventually picking up some rhythm.

They won a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe and a one-off T20I against Qatar ahead of this series win over the Caribbeans to cap off their preparations. They have been named in Group D of the competition alongside Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UAE and are among the contenders to finish top-2 from their group after their run to the 2024 semi-finals.

On the other hand, the journey ahead of the tournament has been torrid for the West Indies, having lost a 5-match series in New Zealand by 3-1, despite getting close to wins throughout the series, and it was followed by this defeat to Afghanistan.

While the players have blown hot and cold, the two-time champions will look to bounce back with some momentum after this 2-1 loss, as they face South Africa in a 3-match series next. They have been grouped with England, Italy, Nepal and Bangladesh (now Scotland) in Group C and can finish in the top spots of their groups as well.