The term hat-trick got a new meaning on Tuesday in the IPL, thanks to Brendon McCullum’s acrobatic effort at the boundary line.
Chris Gayle, who has been out of form, completed his 10,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket with a single off Basil Thampi in the fourth over and then exploded in typical style.
The West Indies batsman then blasted his first six of the innings over mid-off. He sent young mystery spinner Shivil Kaushik for another maximum over long-off in the seventh over.
One of the most bizarre #IPL moments. McCullum takes a stunning catch at long-off but his HAT touches the boundary! Gayle survives.#GLvRCB pic.twitter.com/ELUKAFfIcq
— ScoopWhoop News (@scoopwhoopnews) April 18, 2017
Gayle then exploded with successive fours and a six off left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
And that’s when the bizarre moment unfolded. He blasted the last delivery of the over towards long-off where he was brilliantly ‘caught’ by McCullum – a full-stretch one-handed effort.
However, Gayle survived after multiple replays showed that McCullum’s hat had touched the boundary line.
All because of a floppy hat! And Gayle duly went and patted McCullum on his back for the magnificent effort before getting back to blasting sixes.
Gayle made Lions pay as he brought up his fifty with a massive six over long on off Kaushik in the 10th over and then clobbered Smith for another six as RCB reached the 100-mark.
The dashing opener sent Smith out of the park again in the fourth ball over long-on as RCB picked 17 runs off the over.
In the 13th over, Thampi finally dismissed Gayle when he trapped him leg before to break the partnership.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to that bizarre moment.
That’s the first hat-trick I’ve seen cost a fielding team. Screamer by McCullum in more ways than one. @ESPNcricinfo
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) April 18, 2017
‘You can leave your hat on’ is NOT gonna be on McCullum’s playlist for a long long time #GLvRPS
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) April 18, 2017
I think the catching Law needs to be looked at.. McCullum catch was out in my day. How can umpires adjudicate proper decisions ? https://t.co/7OE41eC6o7
— Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) April 18, 2017
McCullum got the floppy hat on under lights 😂 so village but I love it! #IPL
— Alex Hales (@AlexHales1) April 18, 2017
Great win for #RCB but I’d give man of the match to McCullum just for upholding the spirit of the game with that boundary catch attempt.
— Auditya Venkatesh (@AudiPhotography) April 18, 2017
McCullum’s topi is worse than AAP’s #VIVOIPL #RCBvGL
— TheFrustratedIndian (@FrustIndian) April 18, 2017
Great attempt by McCullum in vain. Magic of slow motion TV highlights his athleticism and reflexes. Alas, also that he grazed the boundary
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 18, 2017
With PTI inputs