Paceman Josh Little grabbed a trio of New Zealand victims at the World Cup on Friday, giving Ireland its second hat-trick in T20 internationals. Little caught Kane Williamson at deep backward square leg for 61, then lbw James Neesham for a duck in the 19th over at Adelaide Oval.
He then had all-rounder Mitchell Santner dismissed lbw with the hat-trick ball, prompting cheers from the growing crowd at the stadium. Both Neesham and Santner attempted to have their decisions overturned, but the decision review system upheld the wickets, cementing Little’s place in Irish cricket history.
Little’s hat-trick was the sixth in T20 World Cup history and the second this year. At last year’s World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, Curtis Campher scored Ireland’s first T20I hat-trick against the Netherlands.
New Zealand finished their innings with a total of 185/6.
