Rao Joginder Singh whose name was recorded incorrectly as Joginder Singh Rao throughout his career (16 October 1938 – 3 October 1994) was an Indian

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

: a right-arm medium pace bowler who played only five first-class games, all for Services in the 1963–64

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

, but who is notable for having not only taken a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on debut, but for following that up with two more in the ''same innings'' of his second match, one of only two men to have achieved this latter feat (the other being

Albert Trott Albert Edwin Trott (6 February 1873 – 30 July 1914) was a Test cricketer for both Australia and England. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899. He is believed to be the only batsman to have struck a ball over the to ...

) and the ''only'' man to have taken three in his first two games. Born in

Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, Rao became only the seventh man to achieve the hat-trick on debut when he dismissed three

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

batsmen as they were bowled out for just 47. Less than a week later, he went one better against Northern Punjab, when he claimed ''two'' hat-tricks in the second innings. His six victims were: Suresh Sharma, Ashok Khanna, Bhupinder Singh; and Rajinder Kale,

Ramnath Paul Ramnath Paul (born 20 March 1942) was an Indian cricketer from Northern Punjab. He was a right-handed batsman and played first-class cricket for nearly five years.His zodiac sign is Pisces. First-class career Paul made his First-class cricke ...

, Bishen Singh Bedi. Rao played only three more times, as shortly afterwards he was injured in a

parachuting Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

accident while serving as a captain in the army. He took up golf and represented India in France and Pakistan. He redesigned the Army golf course in the Delhi Cantonment and the

Dehra Dun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...

golf course. He served in the India-Pakistan wars in 1965 and 1971, and reached the rank of Major-General in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

.''Obituaries in 1995''.

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

, 1996.

Personal life

He married Nandita Rao and had two sons with her. Probir Rao and Rahul Rao. He died in India on 3 October 1994, thirteen days short of his 56th birthday.

World Record

Joginder Singh Rao equalled

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

's world record of three hat-tricks in a single first-class season. He achieved this in 1963–64, around 40 years after Parker. His record was later equalled by

Dean Headley Dean Warren Headley (born 27 January 1970) is a former English professional cricketer who played international cricket for the England cricket team in the 1990s. Headley was born in Stourbridge and comes from a famous cricketing family, being ...

who achieved this feat in 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Joginder 1938 births 1994 deaths Indian cricketers People from Gurgaon Services cricketers Indian Army officers Golf course architects Northern Punjab cricketers