Watch: Matt Henry makes Pakistan return count with hat-trick in Lahore

At pains with New Zealand’s horrific collapse in the second half, pacer Matt Henry would’ve had some sense of consolation on a personal level on Friday (April 14) as he scripted a terrific hat-trick in the opening T20I of the series against Pakistan. 

Henry made his return to the land of hospitality count with a troika of dismissals as Pakistan tried to maximise their time out in the middle in the first-innings. The earnest right-arm quick bagged three scalps off three balls, adding his own to the list of T20I hat-tricks we have come to witness in recent times. 

The pacer made sure with his effort that the visitors could somewhat derail the hosts’ parade and keep them down to 182/10 when it seemed at one stage that they would easily cross the 200-mark. Ultimately it didn’t matter as the second-string Kiwis capitulated for just 94, but Matt Henry had the day to savour on a personal front, finishing with figures of 3/32. 

The hat-trick was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing bowling effort from New Zealand. On a track where the opposition managed to bundle them out below 100, they nearly conceded 190, which, too, was below the mark for which Pakistan had set themselves up.

Matt Henry’s hat-trick to savour in Lahore 

The first of the three wickets arrived off the penultimate ball in the 13th over. Trying to cut a ball too close to the off-stump, and rising, Shadab Khan got out nicking Matt Henry to Kiwi stand-in captain and wicketkeeper-batter, Tom Latham. 

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If it was extra bounce that got the better of Shadab, Iftikhar Ahmed was done in by one that jagged away just a bit but enough to take his outside edge on the very next ball. Latham took another regulation catch. The nick wasn’t initially picked out by the umpire but a fruitful review got Henry and New Zealand the breakthrough. 

Matt Henry’s hat-trick ☝️☝️☝️#PAKvNZpic.twitter.com/1AGt5skoIh

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) April 14, 2023

Despite two wickets, Matt Henry was taken off the attack. But his return at the start of the 19th over resulted in completion of the hat-trick, with left-hander Shaheen Afridi going for a wild slog off a full-pitched delivery that could only go as far as the long-on fielder. 

The ball should’ve sailed over the ropes but for Daryl Mitchell, who made sure he could give a rebound to fellow teammate Chad Bowes as they completed a tag-team catch and gave Henry his deserved hat-trick.