WATCH: 38-year-old Noman Ali scripts history, becomes first Pakistan spinner to claim Test hat-trick

Noman Ali made history by becoming the first spinner from Pakistan to record a hat-trick in Test cricket in Multan on Saturday. On the first day of the final Test of a two-match series in Pakistan, the 38-year-old dominated the West Indies batting lineup. With the West Indies reeling at 44 for 7 in the morning session, Noman had figures of four for six following his first hat-trick. 

Noman Ali has joined a selected group of Pakistani bowlers who have taken a hat-trick in Test matches, 26 years after Wasim Akram did so. Noman became just the fifth bowler from Pakistan to finish with a hat-trick in the game's longest format. Before Noman, in a Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi in 2020, Naseem Shah had claimed a hat-trick.

Noman Ali, Pakistan's first change bowler on the opening day of the Test match, deflated the visiting team's spirits by taking the crucial wicket of West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite in his second over. Within the opening fifteen minutes of play that day, debuting pacer Kashif Ali claimed the first wicket for the West Indies, Mikyle Louis.

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HISTORY BY NOMAN ALI 📢

- Noman Ali becomes the first Pakistan spinner to take a Hat-trick in Test history. 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/Ps3SbVuAbB

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 25, 2025

West Indies batters struggled against spin

Sajid Khan and Noman then kept it tight, maximising the use of the surface that spun large as early as the opening hour of the Test, and the West Indies hitters were rewarded with excellent spin from both ends. In the 12th over, Noman completed his hat-trick by dismissing Ali Justin Greaves, Tevin Imlach, and Kevni Sinclair. To guarantee that Sinclair's edge was caught and Noman finished his hat trick, Babar Azam made a spectacular low catch at Gully.

In Multan, Pakistan set up a dust bowl for the second consecutive Test match, rendering Noman unplayable. Both sides of the bat's edge were beaten by the West Indies batters thanks to the left-arm spinner. When Justin Greaves attempted an expansive drive, he was caught in the slips, and Tevin Imlach was out LBW following a failed sweep. With a little air, Noman invited Sinclair to play the hat-trick ball by flighting the delivery.