MULTAN: Pakistan left-arm spinner Noman Ali achieved a historic feat here on Saturday, the first day of the ongoing second Test against West Indies.
Noman returned with bowling figures of 6-41 to help Pakistan bundle West Indies for a meagre 163 runs in the first session.
This marked the first stance of a spinner taking six wickets before lunch on the first day of a Men’s Test.
Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed previously took five wickets before lunch on the opening day against England in 2022 at the same venue.
Noman’s six-wicket haul also included a hat-trick, which was the first by a Pakistani spinner. He dismissed Justin Greaves, Tevin Imlach and Kevin Sinclair to claim this feat.
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With his maiden Test hat-trick, he joined the list of Pakistan stars who have previously bagged hat-tricks in the longer format.
Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram was the first Pakistan bowler to complete a hat-trick in the red-ball format during a home Test match against Sri Lanka in Lahore in 1998-99.
He bagged his second in 1990 against the same team, becoming the only Pakistan bowler with two hat-tricks in Tests.
Abdul Razzaq achieved the feat in 2000 while pacer Mohammad Sami bagged a hat-trick in 2002, all of which came against Sri Lanka.
Naseem Shah was the last Pakistan bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket, having dismissed three Bangladesh batters in successive deliveries in 2020.