Who took the first hat-trick in a Cricket World Cup?

Chetan Sharma took the first hat-trick in Cricket World Cup history.

The Indian fast bowler achieved the feat during the 1987 World Cup in a group match against New Zealand at Nagpur. With the last three balls of the 42nd over, Sharma bowled Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield in succession.

A hat-trick means dismissing three batters with three consecutive deliveries. Sharma’s achievement was especially notable because it was also the first hat-trick by an Indian bowler in One Day International cricket. India won the match by 16 runs after scoring 252 for 7 and restricting New Zealand to 236 for 9.

Later World Cup hat-tricks by bowlers such as Saqlain Mushtaq, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga are common mix-ups, but all came after Sharma’s landmark performance. Vaas took three wickets in the first three balls of a 2003 match, while Malinga became the first bowler to take four wickets in four deliveries in 2007.