From Baramulla to the brink of history: Auqib Nabi's defining Ranji Trophy season

Hubballi: On a sun-baked afternoon at the KSCA Stadium, Auqib Nabi turned the Ranji Trophy final into a personal theatre of dreams. The 29-year-old seamer from Baramulla tormented Karnataka with a masterclass of swing and seam, carrying Jammu & Kashmir to within seven wickets of a first-ever domestic red-ball title and lifting his season tally to 55 wickets. Two more scalps on Friday will eclipse Uttarakhand spinner Mayank Mishra’s competition-leading 59 and etch Nabi’s name at the top of the charts.

From the moment he marked out his run-up on Day 3, Nabi looked a man possessed. Pronounced late movement, a wrist so rigid it could have been carved from walnut, and a relentless off-stump line suffocated Karnataka’s vaunted batting order. Each delivery seemed to carry the weight of every J&K side that had fallen short since the tournament’s inception in 1934.

Yet the fast bowler, whose whispers have grown into roars across domestic dressing rooms, shrugged off the notion of individual brilliance. “In our team, all of us follow the same plan, sticking to a particular line and length,” he said, sweat still clinging to his brow. “Even if the batters try to go after us, we continue to bowl in the same channel.”

The pre-final narrative had zeroed in on Nabi’s duel with India opener KL Rahul, and the right-arm quick admitted the hype reached him. “Before the match, I got a lot of messages about getting Rahul out, but I just wanted to bowl in a good channel and not focus on the batter,” he revealed. The approach worked: Rahul perished early, and Karnataka never recovered, finishing the day wobbling at 122 for 3, still 211 behind.

Nabi’s obsession with wrist position is the cornerstone of his success. “If you have a straight wrist, everything else becomes easier. The ball moves with the wrist,” he explained, a lesson he learned while toiling on the turf wickets of north Kashmir. Those repetitions have now brought him to the cusp of twin milestones: the purple cap and, more importantly, a slice of history for a region that has never tasted Ranji silverware.

Prominent politicians, former players and Bollywood personalities from Jammu & Kashmir are expected to descend on Hubballi on Friday, hoping to witness the final act of a fairytale. For Nabi, the possibility of lifting the trophy transcends statistics. “When I represented J&K for the first time, it was my dream to win a trophy, especially in red-ball cricket. Growing up, I always knew we hadn’t won a trophy, so this means a lot,” he said, glancing toward the pavilion where the Ranji Trophy glinted under floodlights.

Two wickets stand between Auqib Nabi and immortality. Two wickets stand between Jammu & Kashmir and sporting folklore.