Home
Auqib Nabi stole the show in Jammu & Kashmir's three-wicket victory over Hyderbad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 29-year-old, who was signed by the Delhi Capitals for a massive fee of INR 8.40 crore at the IPL 2026 auction, starred in both the batting and bowling departments. Thanks to him, J&K finished their campaign on a high.
After being invited to bat first, Hyderabad made a strong start with openers Aman Rao and Rahul Gahlaut. The latter was the aggressor among the two and played some superb shots to bring up a quick-fire half-century. Gahlaut eventually lost his wicket to Yudhvir Singh for 56 runs in the ninth over. After the opening stand came to an end for 64 runs, Rao picked up the pace and started to score rapidly.
ALSO READ: Dhruv Jurel tonks match-winning ton after being dropped for NZ ODIs, guides UP to victory in VHT
He formed a valiant 65-run stand with Abhirath Reddy and soon reached his half-century. However, the wickets would fall in quick succession for Hyderabad as first the stand got broken by Abid Mushtaq, who got Reddy's wicket for 19 runs. The left-arm spinner also got Rao's wicket for 60 runs just four overs later as Hyderabad went down to 142/3.
Hyderabad gave J&K a respectable target
Next batters, Pragnay Reddy and Varun Goud got dismissed cheaply, before Nitesh Reddy steadied Hyderabad's sinking ship. He went on to play a crucial knock of 54 and carried the team to a respectable total of 268/9. Nabi recorded figures of 3/56 in his quota of 10 overs and was the pick of the bowlers for J&K. He dismissed tail-enders Pranav Varma, Mohammed Siraj and Nitin Sai Yadav during his spell.
In reply, J&K had a poor start as Siraj dismissed the opening pair of Dikshant Kundal and Shubham Khajuria within the first seven overs. Hyderabad skipper Chama Milind soon joined the party and got wickets in the 13th and 15th over to restrict J&K to 63/4. Things soon got worse for the batting team as their middle and lower-middle order totally flopped and they went down to 90/7 at one stage.
Nabi's incredible performance with the bat
Hyderabad looked to be heading for a comprehensive victory, but the duo of Nabi and Vanshaj Sharma turned the match around completely. Nabi went on to play the innings of his life and smacked the opposing bowlers all around the stadium as J&K got back into the game. Vanshaj also supported him well and both of them scored half-centuries. Nabi didn't stop there and eventually reached triple figures as J&K snatched a three-wicket win from the jaws of defeat.
Nabi remained unbeaten on 114 while Vanshaj also remained unbeaten on 69 and the duo's 182-run stand helped the side claim a thrilling victory. The result saw J&K finish fifth on Elite Group B with 12 points while Hyderabad ended up at fifth place with 8 points. Both the teams failed to make it to the quarter-finals.
ADVERTISEMENT
