Because "\x61" is the byte character:'a'; whereas 97, is taken as the string '97':

$h{"\x61"} = 'a';;

$h{97} = 'b';;

pp \%h;;
{ 97 => "b", a => "a" }

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What you might want is print $hash{chr(97)};.

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In reply to Re: hash key confusion by BrowserUk
in thread hash key confusion by Anonymous Monk

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