Watch: James Faulkner completes hat-trick against Sri Lanka

It seems as though each time James Faulkner takes the ball in his hand, he gets it to do the talking. The most impressive thing about Faulkner is the disguise of his slower delivery, something that takes decades of practice to pull off. This particular delivery came to the fore when he claimed a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in the first batting innings of the match.

The first to go was Kusal Perera. The southpaw was dismissed when he tried being excessively cheeky by attempting to play a reverse sweep. Moreover, the fact remained that the leg before was plumb and Perera decided against reviewing the decision and took the long walk of shame back to the haven of the dressing room.

Faulkner’s second wicket saw him dismiss skipper Angelo Mathews. The Sri Lankan skipper was dismissed when he attempted one shot too many as well as the fact that he was beaten for pace. It was clearly the slower delivery that undid the fighting knock of Angelo Mathews. A smash down to the long off fence saw Moises Henriques complete a marvelous catch.

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The hat-trick was completed in the very next over as Thisara Perera was the next to depart. Attempting a square cut by giving himself room. What eventually happened was the fact that he was cleaned up by James Faulkner and that Faulkner had eventually completed his hat-trick, his first ever treble in One-Day International Cricket. However, in spite of his heroics, the Aussies could not restrict the hosts as they set a hefty target for Australia to chase.

Watch: James Faulkner completes hat-trick against Sri Lanka