Historic Collapse: West Indies All Out for 27 in 14.3 Overs, Boland Claims Hat-Trick

In an astonishing display of dominance, Australia crushed West Indies in the third Test in Kingston, where the hosts were bowled out for a mere 27 runs in 14.3 overs while chasing a target of 204. This catastrophic collapse marked several records in Test cricket history, with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland leading the charge.

**Record-Breaking Collapse** West Indies’ total of 27 is the second-lowest team score in Test cricket history, just one run more than New Zealand’s 26 against England in Auckland in 1955. It is also the lowest team total in West Indies’ Test history, surpassing their previous low of 47 against England at the same venue in 2004. **Starc’s Sensational Performance** Mitchell Starc, playing his 100th Test, etched his name in the record books. He took five wickets in just 15 balls, setting a new record for the fastest five-wicket haul in Test cricket, surpassing the previous mark of 19 balls held by Ernie Toshack (1947), Stuart Broad (2015), and Scott Boland (2021). Starc also became only the second bowler in Test history to take three wickets in the opening over of an innings, following India’s Irfan Pathan (2006). His fiery spell saw West Indies slump to 0/3 in the first over, a rare feat that has occurred only six times in Test history. **Boland’s Hat-Trick Heroics** Scott Boland made history by becoming the first bowler to take a hat-trick in a pink-ball Test and the 10th Australian to achieve the feat in Test cricket. The last Australian to do so was Peter Siddle in 2010 against England in Brisbane. **Other Records Shattered** - **170 Runs**: West Indies’ combined total across both innings is their lowest in a Test where they were bowled out twice, surpassing the previous low of 175 against England at The Oval in 1957. - **14.3 Overs**: The third shortest innings in Test history, with only South Africa (12.3 overs, 1924) and Sri Lanka (13.5 overs, 2024) being dismissed quicker. - **Seven Ducks**: For the first time in Test history, seven batsmen from one team were dismissed for zero in a single innings. - **6 Runs**: The top six West Indies batsmen collectively scored just 6 runs, the lowest in Test history, beating Australia’s 12 runs against England in Sydney in 1888. - **516 Runs**: The combined total of both teams in the match is the seventh-lowest in men’s Tests and the lowest since 1910 for matches where both teams were bowled out twice. - **1045 Balls**: The match saw just 1045 balls bowled across four innings, the fewest since 1910 in a Test with four completed innings. - **48 Runs**: Steven Smith’s first-innings score was the highest individual score of the match, marking only the 16th time in Test history that no batsman scored a fifty in a match with at least two completed innings. **Starc’s Milestone** Starc also became the second-fastest bowler to reach 400 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled (19,062), behind only South Africa’s Dale Steyn (16,634). **Series Victory for Australia** Australia secured the series win, with Starc’s 6/9 in his 100th Test being the best bowling performance in a bowler’s milestone match, eclipsing Muttiah Muralitharan’s 6/54 against Bangladesh in 2006.