Bengaluru (Karnataka): Jammu and Kashmir pace express Auqib Nabi, who is representing the North Zone, became the first to scythe four wickets in four balls in the history of the Duleep Trophy on Friday.  Nabi left an indelible mark on India's domestic circuit. At the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground, the 28-year-old left the North Zone threadbare with his blistering pace.

On the last three deliveries of the 53rd over, he cleaned up Virat Singh, Manishi and Mukhtar Hussain. On the first ball of his next over, he removed Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal to become the first player to take four wickets in four deliveries, according to Wisden. 

He returned with figures of 5/28 in 10.1 overs in the first innings as East Zone crumbled and eventually collapsed on 230, in response to a daunting 405. Nabi is just the third player to take a hat-trick in the tournament, after Kapil Dev during the 1979 edition of the tournament and leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule in 2001. 

Nabi made his debut for Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 and eventually burst onto the scene with a three-wicket haul against Karnataka in the quarter-final. He went wicketless in the second innings but remained the most economical bowler for his side. 

In that season, Nabi pulled the curtains down on his campaign with a staggering 24 wickets in just seven games, at an average of 18.50, with two five-wicket hauls. 

Over the next two years, he did not make a single appearance for his state side in the first-class. It appeared as if his red-ball career had stalled, but a single season turned around his career. 

In the last season of the Ranji Trophy, Nabi left the opposition batters in dismay and blazed his way to 49 wickets from nine matches last season at a stellar average of 13.08. 

Nabi's exploits handed a valuable 175-run lead to the North Zone, who would now look to extend it on Day 3 and book their place in the semi-finals.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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