Aqib Nabi creates history as Jammu and Kashmir’s first bowler

Jammu and Kashmir have created history by playing in the Ranji Trophy final for the first time. They took a big lead of 291 runs in the first innings against Karnataka. The team's pacer Aqib Nabi is also setting fire to the final with his bowling skills and has already written his name in the pages of history.

The 29-year-old right-arm pacer has become the first bowler from Jammu and Kashmir to take the most wickets in a season. He took 5 wickets in the first innings of the final to complete a total of 60 wickets. The record was previously held by Uttarakhand's Mayank Mishra, who took 59 wickets.

With the dominance of Aqib Nabi in bowling, Jammu and Kashmir amassed 584 runs in the first innings, where Shubham Pundi scored the highest 121 runs. Karnataka were all out for 293, with Mayank Agarwal scoring 160 and Prasidh Krishna taking 5 wickets. Aqib Nabi bowled 5 for 54 in 23 overs.

Jammu and Kashmir started well in the second innings and after losing 3 wickets for 72 runs, they have a lead of 368 runs. They are on course to reach the final for the first time and become champions.

Aqib Nabi has become only the seventh bowler in the history of Ranji Trophy to take 60 or more wickets in a single season. His wicket tally is likely to increase further now.

The list of highest wicket-takers in a season is as follows:

Harsh Dubey (Vidarbha, 2024-25): 69 wickets

Ashutosh Aman (Bihar, 2018-19): 68 wickets

Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra, 2019-20): 67 wickets

Bishan Singh Bedi (Delhi, 1974-75): 64 wickets

Duda Ganesh (Karnataka, 1998-99): 62 wickets

Kanwaljit Singh (Hyderabad, 1999-2000): 62 wickets

Aqib Nabi (Jammu and Kashmir, 2025-26 ongoing): 60* wickets