Nabi's four-in-four seals North Zone lead in Duleep Trophy QF

Auqib Nabi produced a match-turning spell on Friday, August 29, ripping through East Zone’s batting in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru. The 28 year old pacer from Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, finished with five wickets for 28 in 10.1 overs and also contributed a quick 44 off 33 with the bat as North Zone amassed 405 and then dismissed East Zone for 230 to take a first-innings lead of 175.

Nabi’s dismissals came in rapid succession late in East Zone’s innings. Match reports and broadcasters recorded that he struck on the fourth, fifth and sixth balls of the 53rd over and then again on the first ball of his next over, producing four wickets in four balls across the two overs. The sequence removed Virat Singh, Manishi and Mukhtar Hussain in the 53rd over and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal on the next over’s first delivery, before Nabi wrapped up the innings by dismissing Mohammed Shami for one. Some accounts described the achievement as a hat-trick; others credited Nabi with the rarer four-in-four feat. Either way, the spell was pivotal in turning the match in North Zone’s favour.

Earlier, North Zone posted 405 in 93.2 overs, with...