It has been the IPL of the leg-spinners so far, with the likes of Imran Tahir and Rashid Khan bamboozling the batsmen and sitting pretty at the top in the list of leading wicket-takers.
Well, that Indian Premier League of the leg-spinners just got a whole lot better on Friday, as Samuel Badree became the first bowler to pick up a hat-trick in IPL 2017 and the 15th in the history of the tournament.
With the Royal Challengers Bangalore staring down the barrel, after a poor batting show in the first innings, the bowlers needed to step up for the home side on a low and slow Chinnaswamy wicket and step up they did, with Badree leading the way.
After Stuart Binny had sent the dangerous Jos Buttler packing in the second over of the innings, Badree, who opened the attack for RCB, was given the ball for his second over.
And what a second over it turned out to be.
First ball was full and outside off stump, with Parthiv Patel hitting a drive straight to mid-off.
The second was the first of the three consecutive wickets. A googly from Badree, Parthiv tried to loft the ball over the covers, but didn't get enough of a connection, with Chris Gayle taking a simple catch.
Third ball and second wicket turned out to be that of the pinch-hitter Mitchell McClenaghan, who clubbed a low full toss straight to Mandeep Singh at long-on.
You felt now that there was no way Badree was getting the hat-trick, because an accomplished batsman in Rohit Sharma was on strike.
However, Rohit was completely befuddled by the googly. The right-hander didn't pick the wrong'un, the ball snuck through bat and pad and crashed into the stumps.
Badree celebrated, the RCB players all ran at him and the Chinnaswamy crowd howled in delight.
The man from Trinidad almost got his fourth wicket in four balls, when his fifth delivery of the over nearly caught Kieron Pollard off guard. Seeing the batsman coming out of his crease, Badree slid the ball down the leg-side, but Pollard just got his pad in the way to deflect it away.
Final ball of the over was on leg-stump, with Rana playing out a dot ball to complete one of the most memorable overs of IPL 2017.
Badree (4-1-9-4) would finish his spell off with another wicket – his fourth – as Nitish Rana cut one to S Aravind at backward point.
Despite Badree's heroics, though, the Mumbai Indians still won the match. RCB's total of 142 just wasn't enough, with Kieron Pollard (70, 47b, 3x4, 5x6) and Krunal Pandya (37 n.o., 30b, 3x4, 1x6) playing brilliant knocks for MI, to take their team home in impressive fashion.
Watch video of Badree's hat-trick HERE
Watch the highlights of the match HERE
List of hat-tricks in IPL history:
L Balaji for Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab in 2008.
Amit Mishra for Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers in 2008.
Makhaya Ntini for Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008.
Yuvraj Singh for Kings XI Punjab vs RCB in 2009.
Rohit Sharma for Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians in 2009.
Yuvraj Singh for Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers in 2009.
Praveen Kumar for Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals in 2010.
Amit Mishra for Delhi Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab in 2011.
Ajit Chandila for Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors India in 2012.
Sunil Narine for Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab in 2013.
Amit Mishra for Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Pune Warriors India in 2013.
Pravin Tambe for Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014.
Shane Watson for Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014.
Axar Patel for Kings XI Punjab vs Gujarat Lions in 2016.
Samuel Badree for Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians in 2017.
