With his fantastic performance for North Zone against East Zone in the first round of the 2025 Duleep Trophy at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru on Friday, August 29, Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi has put domestic cricket batters on notice.
Auqib Nabi recorded a double hat-trick in his first appearance in the red-ball tournament, taking four wickets in as many balls. In eight games of the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy, the 28-year-old took 44 wickets, the most of any bowler. Against some of the top hitters in Indian cricket, he has maintained the same form.
After Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana shared the new ball on Friday, Auqib Nabi was brought in as the first-change bowler. After going wicketless in his first eight overs, the right-arm seamer took five wickets in 13 balls.
Virat Singh, Manishi, and Mukhtar Hussain were all removed by Nabi from the final three deliveries of the 53rd over. In the 55th over, Nabi dismissed Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal with the first delivery. In his next over, the gifted Baramulla cricketer got rid of Mohammed Shami, completing his five-for.
With impressive bowling numbers of 5/28 in 10.1 overs, Nabi concluded. Along with challenging the East Zone hitters with his excellent swing and seam, he also managed to slip in a maiden. In their opening innings, Riyan Parag and company were bowled out for 230, giving North Zone a commanding 175-run lead.
In first-class cricket, Auqib Nabi became one of the few Indian bowlers to take four wickets in four balls. Prior to him, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mohammad Mudhasir, and Shankar Saini accomplished the amazing accomplishment.
In first-class cricket, the Indians took four wickets in four balls.
Shankar Saini, Himachal Pradesh v. Delhi, 1988
Mohammad Mudhasir, Rajasthan vs. Jammu & Kashmir, 2018
Madhya Pradesh vs. Baroda, Kulwant Khejroliya, 2024
North Zone vs. East Zone, Auqib Nabi, Today
Nabi also helped North Zone surpass 400 runs in their first innings with a scorching 44 off 33 balls. On Day 2, Ankit Kumar led the North Zone by 175 runs at Stumps.
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