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.

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.