Jammu and Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi picked up four wickets in four balls, a first in Duleep Trophy history.
Auqib Nabi takes four in four in Duleep Trophy quarterfinal
Playing for the North Zone against the East Zone, Nabi dismissed Virat Singh, Manishi and Mukhtar Hussain on the last three balls of the 53rd over. EZ were up against NZ’s first innings total of 405, and Nabi’s triple strike reduced them to 222-8 within three balls.
The 28-year-old was not done in the game: He dismissed Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal on the first ball of his next over as well, to claim four wickets in four balls, the first time a bowler has achieved the feat in Duleep Trophy history. He finished the innings with 5-28 in 10.1 overs, bowling out East Zone for 230.
1st Quarter Final, North Zone vs East Zone
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- Ball by ball Over
Nabi is also just the third to get a hat-trick in the competition. Kapil Dev was the first to achieve the feat during the 1979 Duleep Trophy final, when he picked up 7-65 against the West Zone. In 2001, leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule also scalped three in three, helping West Zone to a massive win by an innings and 363 runs against East Zone.
Who is Auqib Nabi?
The right-arm medium pacer made his first-class debut for Jammu and Kashmir in 2020, and burst onto the scene against Karnataka, picking up 3-35 in the quarter-final. While wicketless in the second innings, he was the most economical bowler for his team. That season, Nabi picked up 24 wickets in just seven games, at 18.50 with two five-fors.
He did not play another first-class game for over two years, and it seemed like his career had stalled, but 49 wickets in nine matches last season at 13.08 brought him back into the limelight. Ahead of the ongoing Duleep Trophy clash, Nabi had played 29 red-ball games, picking up 90 wickets at 22.12 with eight five-wicket hauls. He picked up his ninth today (August 29).
Nabi has also played 29 List A games (42 wickets at 28.88) and 27 T20 matches (28 wickets at 26.39).
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