Dasun Shanaka takes double hat-trick in MLC 2026 to join Lasith Malinga on elite T20 list

Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka produced a memorable display in MLC 2026, taking four wickets in four consecutive balls to seal a nine-run win for the Seattle Orcas over the Texas Super Kings on Monday, July 6, and join compatriot Lasith Malinga in an elite T20 club.

The Orcas batted first in Pomona and were restricted to 121/9, with Amshi de Silva picking up three wickets for 15 runs and Adam Milne taking two wickets in a miserly four-over spell for the Super Kings. In reply, the Texas franchise never threatened, losing wickets at regular intervals. With 15 runs needed off the final over, Shanaka had the ball.

The first two deliveries produced five runs, with Shubman Ranjane hitting a boundary before taking a single, leaving the equation at 10 off four balls. The veteran pacer then took four wickets in succession. He shattered Donovan Ferreira's stumps with a slower delivery before sending Calvin Savage packing off the next ball. Milne was removed two deliveries later to complete the hat-trick, and Shanaka claimed the fourth consecutive wicket off the final ball to dismiss De Silva and complete a double hat-trick.

The feat of taking four wickets in four consecutive T20 deliveries has been achieved by only a small group of players throughout the format's history. Jim Allenby was the first to do so in T20 cricket, claiming four wickets in four balls for Leicestershire against Lancashire in 2008. Among the most celebrated instances was Malinga's, who dismissed Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor in four successive deliveries against New Zealand at Pallekele in September 2019, ending with figures of 5 for 6 in that match.

Others who have joined this club include Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Curtis Campher and Jason Holder, across various competitions around the world. With his MLC 2026 performance, Shanaka's name now stands alongside some of the most celebrated fast bowlers and spinners in recent T20 cricket history.

The win took the Seattle Orcas to second place on the MLC 2026 points table, their fourth victory from eight games this season. The Orcas finished as runners-up in the inaugural 2023 edition and remain firmly in the mix in 2026, with this representing their best-ever start to an MLC season. The franchise is scheduled to play MI New York and the San Francisco Unicorns in their remaining league matches.