Most international cricket hat-tricks

Pacemen Wasim Akram (Pakistan) and Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) have both taken four international hat-tricks (three wickets in three balls) during their careers. Akram achieved the feat in One-Day Internationals against the West Indies on 14 October 1989 and Pakistan on 4 May 1990. Both matches, respectively in the Champions Trophy and the final of the Austral-Asia Cup, took place at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates. He had to wait almost a decade for his third and four international hat-tricks, which came in consecutive Asian Test Championship matches against Sri Lanka, on 6 March (in Lahore, Pakistan) and 14 March 1999 (in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during the final). Malinga is one of only six players (as of 29 December 2017) to take a hat-trick in a Twenty20 International, against Bangladesh in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 6 April 2017. His other three hat-tricks have been achieved in One-Day Internationals: against South Africa during the ICC World Cup in Guyana on 28 March 2007; against Kenya during the ICC World Cup in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 1 March 2011; and against Australia in Colombo on 22 August 2011.

Against South Africa on 28 March 2007, Malinga became the only player to date to take four wickets in four balls in an international cricket match, removing Shaun Pollock (bowled) and Andrew Hall (caught) with the last two balls of the 45th over and Jacques Kallis (caught) and Makhaya Ntini (bowled) with the first two balls of the 47th over. Despite his heroics, South Africa won the match by one wicket.