Abhimanyu Mithun, who has been under investigation in connection with the spot-fixing scandal in the Karnataka Premier League, took five wickets in an over in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 against Haryana and helped his side to storm into the final. His exploits included four dismissals in as many deliveries. Mithun finished with 5 for 39.
With this show, Mithun became the first Indian to have taken a hat-trick in all domestic competitions - Ranji, Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20. He had bagged his first-class hat-trick against Uttar Pradesh back in the 2009 season. The Vijay Hazare final against Tamil Nadu in Bengaluru last month saw Mithun get to a hat-trick in the List A format before repeating this feat in the domestic T20 competition.
“It’s always nice to contribute in your team’s cause,” he said. Before his show, Mithun had only picked 5 wickets from 7 outings in this competition. “The trick in the last over was to vary my pace and not give them much space to free their arms,” he added.
It was a see-saw game for Mithun. Haryana’s Himanshu Rana (61) and Chaitanya Bishnoi (55) powered their side to an imposing 194-8 in their 20 overs. After being hit for 37 runs in his first three overs, Mithun came back in style in the 20th. He began by dismissing Rana in the first ball. In his second ball, Mithun got rid of Rahul Tewatia (32). Sumit Kumar was Mithun’s hat-trick victim. He had four in four when Amit Mishra was caught at covers. The fifth delivery was a wide, then Jitesh Saroha drove him for a single off the next. Mithun bagged his fifth wicket when Jayant Yadav was pouched by keeper in the final delivery. The target of 194 eventually proved too little for Karnataka who chased it down in just 15 overs.
