Jammu and Kashmir stunned Maharashtra on November 26, the opening day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 (SMAT 2025) tournament. J&K defeated the star-studded Maharashtra cricket team by 5 wickets. Auqib Nabi's brilliant bowling is one of the main reasons behind J&K's dominating performance. 

Maharashtra went to bat first at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and immediately felt in trouble as their top order collapsed completely. Prithvi Shaw, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, and experienced batter Rahul Tripathi lost their wickets cheaply. In 5 overs, Maharashtra was down by 3 wickets. Collective effort from their middle- and lower-middle-order batters pushed the total to 130 runs against all ten wickets in 19.5 overs. Auqib Nabi took 3 wickets in the process. 

Maharashtra sustained the first blow when Nabi, a pacer, took the wicket of Shaw. Abdul Samad's diving catch helped Jammu and Kashmir to get rid of the opener. Vicky Ostwal, with 21 runs, was Maharashtra's top run scorer of the match and also lost his wicket against the emerging pacer. In the following delivery, Nabi bowled out Prashant Solanki on the 5th delivery of the 20th over of the first innings. In his 3.5-over spell, Auqib picked up 3 wickets, leaking only 28 runs. 

Watch the 3-wicket spell here

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Who is Auqib Nabi? 

Ahead of the IPPL 2026 mini auction, Auqib Nabi is one of the most discussed names among Indian cricket fans on social media platforms. It was previously reported that for the 29-year-old seamer, franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) can express their interest during the auction. 2025 has been proving a dream year for Nabi, as he has been bowling constantly well for Jammu and Kashmir. 

During the Mumbai vs. J&K match, Nabi took 5 wickets in the second innings after getting 2 wickets in the first innings. In the second innings, the pacer clinched Musheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz Khan, and Tanush Kotian from the wicket. Despite the remarkable bowling from Auqib and brilliant batting from Paras Dogra, J&K captain, they lost the match by 35 runs to Mumbai. 

Auqib Nabi's bowling performance in the last 5 matches: 

Jammu and Kashmir vs Maharashtra: 3/28
Jammu and Kashmir vs Hyderabad: 4/39 & 1/19
Jammu and Kashmir vs Delhi: 5/35 & 0/43
Jammu and Kashmir vs Chhattisgarh: 2/90
Jammu and Kashmir vs Rajasthan: 3/29 & 7/24