Ewen Chatfield

It was a trip down memory lane for several cricketers as they gathered to celebrate the silver jubilee of Chetan Sharma’s hat-trick in the 1987 World Cup.

This day, 34 years ago, India's Chetan Sharma scripted history by becoming the first bowler to take a World Cup hat-trick. This was also the first instance of an Indian taking a hat-trick in any format of the game.

Despite protective gear having improved significantly over the years, batsmen still continue to remain unsafe during a cricket match.

"Out of my 30 international hundreds, I can hardly remember 10-12 but the whirlwind knock against New Zealand is still fresh in my mind even after 31 years," Mohammad Azharuddin said about the day when "everything clicked for him". It was in December, 1988 when Azhar blasted a more than decent New Zealand attack for a 62-ball-100, then the fastest hundred in 50 overs cricket.

The first Test he played could well have been his last but Ewen Chatfield didn't just live to tell the tale but also enjoyed an enduring love affair with cricket, which ended only after he turned 68.

Chetan Sharma, who started white-ball cricket here in 1978-79 with a hockey orb and then claimed the first World Cup hat-trick with a red cherry returns to the Sector-16 Stadium as BCCI's chief selector, still aspiring to become a Kapil Dev.

Chetan Sharma, the first Indian bowler to achieve a hat-trick in a World Cup, accomplished this historic feat on October 31, 1987, against New Zealand. His brilliant performance restricted New Zealand to 221/9, enabling India to secure a comfortable nine-wicket victory with strong batting from Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth.

Among the best stands Bishan Singh Bedi's tightest spell ever: 12-8-6-1 against East Africa in 1975. And among the worst is when Sunil Gavaskar crawled his way to 36 not out in 60 overs against England in 1975. He played 174 balls. Then there is India’s batting average in all WC games (from 1975) of 32.6, and bowling average of 29.0.

Indian cricket has seen nine historic hat-tricks across formats. Harbhajan Singh took the first Test hat-trick against Australia in 2001. Chetan Sharma achieved the first ODI hat-trick versus New Zealand in 1987. Deepak Chahar became the first Indian to claim a T20I hat-trick against Bangladesh in 2019.

Twenty-eight years to the day, Chetan Sharma took the first World Cup hat-trick against New Zealand at Nagpur.

Former England fast bowler Peter Lever has died at the age of 84. Lever was instrumental in England's 1970-71 Ashes series victory in Australia, and his career spanned 17 Test matches with 41 wickets, and significant domestic success with Lancashire. Lever's legacy includes his impactful performances and a notable incident in 1975.

Former New Zealand wicket keeper-turned-commentator Ian Smith was on Tuesday honoured with the Bert Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding service to cricket in the NZC Awards presented online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chetan Sharma was the first man to claim a hat-trick in the World Cup during the 1987 edition of the tournament. The former pacer has now backed the so far undefeated Team India to win the title for the third time.

He had to retire mid-innings during the first Test in Pune on Thursday due to an upset stomach. After receiving criticism from former Australian captain Allan Border, and plenty of other comments on social media, he returned to continue his knock in the first Test against India in Pune.

When Mohammed Shami completed a famous hat-trick to win India their game against Afghanistan on Saturday, he became the second Indian after Chetan Sharma to achieve the feat in a World Cup.

Ahead of the Test series starting September 22, a look at five memorable performances from New Zealanders in India.

Former India pacer Chetan Sharma was the first to take a World Cup hat-trick when he destroyed the New Zealand line-up in 1987. Here's a quick recap of the World Cup hat-tricks so far and the bowlers whose names have been etched in history as a result of their feats in the mega event.

TOI Sports caught up with the captain on the 1988-89 tour, John Wright, for his recollections of New Zealand’s last Test win in India,which NZ won at the Wankhede Stadium in November 1988 in what remains one of their most memorable victories in Asia.