A hat-trick by North Zone’s Auqib Nabi (10.1-1-28-5) enlivened day two of the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru as East Zone folded for 230 in reply to North Zone’s 405-run first-innings total.

The 28-year-old from Jammu & Kashmir, who scalped 44 wickets in his side’s run to the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy quarterfinals, dismissed the last five batters, including four in four balls, to help North secure a massive 175-run lead.

Virat Singh (69, 102b, 7×4, 2×6) saw his middle-stump uprooted; Manishi – who had completed a six-wicket haul earlier on Friday (6/111) – shouldered arms only for the cherry to keep low and thud into the pads; Mukhtar Hussain was castled, before Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal was caught behind off the first ball of Nabi’s next over.

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Mohammed Shami was the last to go, trapped in front, as Nabi completed a sensational spell (3.1-0-5-5) to cap a golden day that also saw him make 44 valuable runs (33b, 5×4, 2×6) coming in at No. 9 to help North add 97 runs to its day one score of 308 for six.

Nabi even hit Shami – who had brutally roughed up overnight batter Kanhaiya Wadhawan with consecutive body blows, one on the hand and the other on the helmet – for a clean six, perhaps a harbinger of things to come.

However, until Virat was at the crease for East, there was no inkling of a collapse. The dashing southpaw, who drove and cut with aplomb, put on 60 runs for the fourth wicket with captain Riyan Parag (39, 47b, 3×4, 2×6) and 74 for the fifth with Kumar Kushagra (29, 61b, 5×4). The Jharkhand batter brought up his half-century by hitting offie Sahil Lotra for a straight six.

But from 200 for four, East crumbled like a house of cards to give North firm control of the tie.

Published on Aug 29, 2025