KATHMANDU: Rubina Chhetri became the first ever Nepali cricketer to take a hat-trick in international cricket when she took five wickets in five balls against Singapore in the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Cricket Tournament at the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

Asked to bowl the last over of the match by skipper Ritu Kanoujiya with Singapore just two runs away from victory, Rubina made a confident start with a dot ball. She then claimed three wickets in the next three balls to complete the hat-trick - the first ever by a Nepali player in any form of cricket in international level.

Her next ball went wide that put both the teams level at 79. But Rubina’s heroics were not over yet and she claimed two more wickets in the next two balls. The match was decided in the bowl-out and Nepal registered a 2-1 victory. “I was scared and not willing to bowl when captain (Ritu) came to me and gave me the ball,” Rubina told The Himalayan Times. “I was not happy even when I got the first wicket as I had a feeling that we are going to lose the match,” said 15-year-old Rubina, who hails from Kakkarvitta of Mechi Municipality in Jhapa district.

“When the fourth ball went wide, I was so scared that I was on the verge of crying while bowling the next ball,” said emotional Rubina. “I got five wickets but I came to know about the hat-trick only during the presentation ceremony,” said the multi-talented Rubina, a 10th

grade student at North Point School in Jhapa, who also plays volleyball in school. She also holds the domestic record for best bowling figures in women’s cricket, taking six wickets for three runs in 3.4 overs against Nepalgunj during the Fifth National Games.

“I got into cricket by watching others play around me,” she said. Her brother, Pawan Chhetri, also played cricket in school and college. “My family (mother and brother) have been supporting me,” she said.