With the game almost slipping away, Dasun Shanaka took four wickets in four balls in MLC 2026 for the Seattle Orcas against Texas Super Kings.
Dasun Shanaka takes four in four in MLC 2026
The Sri Lanka all-rounder's magnificent last over helped the Seattle Orcas clinch victory in a low-scoring thriller against the Super Kings, helping them win by nine runs in Pomona. They batted first and were restricted to 121/9, with credit to some fine bowling by Amshi de Silva, who picked up three wickets for 15 runs. Adam Milne also chipped in with two wickets, giving away just 10 runs in his four overs.
In reply, the Super Kings never really got going, and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The match went down to the wire, and the Orcas needed to defend 15 off the last over, with Donovan Ferreira and Shubman Ranjane in the middle, and the responsibility was handed over to Dasun Shanaka.
The first two balls garnered five runs, as Ranjane hit a four and then took a single, with the equation coming down to 10 off four. Shanaka then skittled Ferreira with a slower one to shatter the stumps.
Calvin Savage was then sent packing immediately, and the same happened to Adam Milne, as Shanaka completed his hat-trick and also brought the game home for the Orcas. Lastly, he converted it into a double hat-trick with a wicket on the last ball of the innings to dismiss De Silva.
The Seattle Orcas are placed comfortably at the second spot on the MLC points table, with this being their fourth win in eight games. They are scheduled to play against the Mumbai Indians New York (MINY) and the San Francisco Unicorns in their remaining league matches.
The Orcas were the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the MLC in 2023, going down to MINY, who sit with two titles to their name. This is still their best-ever finish in an MLC season.
Dasun Shanaka joins compatriot Lasith Malinga on elite list
Taking four wickets in four balls wasn't completely an alien concept for Shanaka. He saw something very similar unfold against New Zealand in September 2019 from close quarters as Lasith Malinga ripped through the Black Caps batting with four wickets in four balls in Pallekele. In his second over, and third of New Zealand's chase of 126, Malinga reduce the visitors to 15/4.
In 2008, Jim Allenby had became the first player in T20s to register four wickets on four consecutive deliveries, doing so for Leicestershire against Lancashire. Since then, the likes of Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Curtis Campher and Jason Holder, among others, have also achieved the feat.
| Bowler | Team | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| Dasun Shanaka | Seattle Orcas | Texas Super Kings | Pomono | July 6, 2026 |
| Nicol Loftie-Eaton | Namibia | Malawi | Harare | September 30, 2025 |
| Hernan Fennell | Argentina | Cayman | Buenos Aires | December 15, 2024 |
| Waseem Yaqoob | Lesotho | Mali | Tanzania | September 25, 2024 |
| Jason Holder | West Indies | England | Bridgetown | January 30, 2022 |
| Cameron Boyce | Melbourne Renegades | Sydney Thunder | Melbourne | January 19, 2022 |
| Darshan Nalkande | Vidarbha | Karnataka | Delhi | November 20, 2021 |
| Curtis Campher | Ireland | Netherlands | Abu Dhabi | October 18, 2021 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | Hampshire | Middlesex | Southampton | September 20, 2020 |
| Abhimanyu Mithun | Karnataka | Haryana | Surat | November 29, 2019 |
| Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka | New Zealand | Kandy | September 6, 2019 |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | Ireland | Dehradun | Fenruary 24, 2019 |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | India A | Bengaluru | September 21, 2013 |
| Jim Allenby | Leicestershire | Lancashire | Manchester | June 15, 2008 |
Image credits: Seattle Orcas
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