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NEW DELHI: Five magical moments from the first round of the 2011 World Cup:
Lasith Malinga's hat-trick
- Sri Lanka's king of sling claimed a second World Cup hat-trick in a six-wicket haul against hapless Kenya in Colombo. Malinga sent back Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche in successive balls. In 2007, he had taken four in four balls against South Africa.
Kevin O'Brien's record century
- Irish whirlwind Kevin O'Brien scored the fastest-ever World Cup century, off just 50 balls, as Ireland completed a stunning three-wicket win over England.
Shoulder to shoulder after quake tragedy
- Australia and New Zealand players stood shoulder to shoulder and observed a minute's silence in Nagpur on February 25 in honour of the Christchurch earthquake victims. “We are neighbours and brothers,” said Australia skipper Ricky Ponting.
Tait v Tillakaratne
- Aussie speedster Shaun Tait and Sri Lanka opener Tillakaratne Dilshan squared up in Colombo and Tait won hands down. Dilshan edged through the slips to enrage the fiery Tait. The Sri Lankan then pulled away from the crease just as Tait went into his next delivery stride, before the speedster had his man next ball, courtesy of a slip catch.
Brother bother
- Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal's calamitous performance behind the stumps against New Zealand unleashed a stream of criticism and paved the way for younger brother Umar to take over. That was until Umar hurt his finger and ankle in two training accidents and was accused by sections of the Pakistan media of feigning injury to save his brother's job.
