Pathan claims fastest hat-trick

Irfan Pathan's feat of claiming a hat-trick in the first over of a match is unparalleled in Test chronicles. The previous record of the 'earliest' hat-trick in a Test was held by Sri Lanka's Nuwan Zoysa, who claimed a hat-trick in the second over of the Test match against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1999-00.

However, Zoysa's hat-trick is unique in the way that it came off first three balls he sent down in the match.

A total of 36 hat-tricks have now been made by 33 players-with Australia's Hugh Trumble, Thomas Matthews and Pakistan's Wasim Akram doing it on two occasions. For India, it was the second hat-trick after Harbhajan Singh's heroics against Australia at Kolkata in 2000-01.

The country-wise break-up of hat-tricks:

Australia - 10
England - 10
West Indies - 4
Pakistan - 4
New Zealand - 2
India - 2
South Africa - 1
Sri Lanka - 1
Zimbabwe - 1
Bangladesh - 1 

This was the fifth hat-trick against Pakistan in Test cricket. Others to do so against Pakistan are - Wesley Hall (WI), Peter Petherick (NZ), Damien Fleming (Aus) and Alok Kapali (Ban). Interestingly all five hat-trick have come on Pakistan soil.

Test hat-tricks against Pakistan: