Duleep Trophy 2025: Hat-trick from Auqib Nabi put East Zone in disarray

The hope turns into reality. The pace bowling all-rounder from Jammu and Kashmir put East Zone in disarray in the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2025 clash. Auqib Nabi, the J&K player representing the North Zone, took a hat trick. 

East Zone then was trying to make a comeback with Virat Singh. Singh's half century came at the right time of the innings. His fifty-plus-run knock took the match into an interesting point. When Virat was batting on 69, Nabi struck. That was a huge blow for East Zone. Virat was the only batter who was well settled on the track for their side. 

Nabi spared no time to take two more wickets back-to-back. By taking the wickets of Manishi and Mukhtar Hussain, the all-rounder completed his hat trick. After a couple of overs, Nabi again made a cut; this time it was time for Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal to go back to the dugout. 

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After the sudden impact, East Zone's innings came to an end for 230 runs against North Zone's first innings of 405. Auqib, in his 10.1-over spell, clinched 5 wickets for 28 runs and one maiden over. 

Who is Auqib Nabi?

28-year-old Nabi has gained ample experience playing for Jammu and Kashmir in domestic cricket. The pace bowling all-rounder is known for his quick-fire batting abilities and economical bowling. Against Kerala in a 2025 Ranji Trophy fixture, he scored 32 runs and picked 6 wickets in the first innings.

During the historic win against Mumbai, Nabi again proved himself as a key figure. In the first innings, he took a couple of wickets, and then in the second innings, he secured another 4 wickets. Star Mumbai batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, and Shardul Thakur fell short against the promising all-rounder.