Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi etched his name into the history books on Friday, taking a sensational hat-trick for North Zone against East Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal in Bengaluru. The 28-year-old's incredible feat places him in an elite club as only the third bowler in the tournament's history to achieve the milestone, alongside Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev.
Nabi produced a devastating spell of fast bowling to turn the match on its head. He achieved the rare feat by dismissing Virat Singh, Manishi, and Mukhtar Hussain with three consecutive deliveries, leaving the East Zone batting lineup in tatters and completing a memorable hat-trick.
The drama didn't end there. With the first ball of his very next over, Nabi dismissed Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal to claim an even rarer achievement: four wickets in four balls. He is only the fourth Indian bowler in the history of first-class cricket to do so. Nabi wasn't done, as he later removed veteran pacer Mohammed Shami to finish the innings with an outstanding five-wicket haul (5 for 28).
Nabi's hat-trick is the first in the Duleep Trophy in over two decades. He joins a prestigious and very short list of bowlers to have achieved the feat in the tournament's 60-plus year history, which includes Kapil Dev (for North Zone in 1978-79) and former Indian international Sairaj Bahutule (for West Zone in 2001).
Auqib Nabi's incredible spell of bowling was the standout performance of the Duleep Trophy's opening round. His record-breaking achievement has not only lit up the start of the 2025-26 Indian domestic season but has also announced his arrival on the national stage in the most spectacular fashion possible.