• Shahbaz Nadeem’s 8-10

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    When India A bowler Shahbaz Nadeem took a sensational eight wickets for 10 runs for Jharkhand to break the all-time List A record, it included a hat-trick he didn’t even know about.

    Nadeem took so many wickets during his incredible bowling performance for Jharkhand against Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Thursday that he didn’t even notice he had taken a hat-trick.

    ‘People told me about the world record after the innings. When I was bowling I didn’t even realise I had taken a hat-trick, because I got the first two wickets off the last two balls and then the third one off the first ball of my next over,’ said Nadeem.

    The 29-year-old took eight wickets at a cost of one run per over to finish with figures of 10-4-10-8 as Rajasthan were rumbled for 73 runs in 28.3 overs. If Nadeem had another over or two to bowl, it’s possible he could have picked up all 10 wickets.

    ‘I first thought of the possibility of getting all 10 when I got my eighth wicket. But you get what is destined for you, so I was destined to get only eight today,’ added Nadeem.

    His teammates knocked the required runs in under 15 overs for the loss of just three wickets.

    A week before his record-breaking performance, Nadeem had been one of five bowlers who travelled to the UAE to bowl to the Indian team in the nets to assist them in their preparation for the Asia Cup.

    Incredible spell of bowling

    Rajasthan were 32 without loss in the 10th over when Nadeem picked up his first wicket, and by the end of the 23rd over, he had picked up his eighth wicket.

    ‘It’s natural to feel a bit disappointed if you are close to getting all 10 and you don’t, but at the end, the team won so that was the main thing,’ said Nadeem. ‘In fact, I told Anukul [Roy] to change his strategy while bowling to get the wicket. He was bowling it a little slower, and I told him that, on this pitch, you needed to bowl it a bit quicker. There was a lot of turn on offer, so I told him to keep flighting the ball, but bowl it in such a way that it hits the surface a bit. After that, if it turns, the batsman will be in trouble anyway, and if it goes straight, they can get bowled. I also told him to go a bit wider to create more of an angle, and it worked.’

    Nadeem admitted that having bowled to the Indian batsmen earlier in the week helped him to up his game ahead of taking this record.

    ‘I have bowled to the Indian team before too, having been called up to the nets several times,’ he said. ‘It is always a good experience because when you bowl to quality batsmen you have to keep bowling good balls, so it gets you into that rhythm. I had some good chats with Mahibhai [MS Dhoni] and Bharat Arun there. Mahibhai always has good advice, and he shares it with me often. It’s more about field placements for particular types of bowling and to different batsmen.’

    Shahbaz Nadeem – career figures

    Mat Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4w/5w/10i
    First-class 99 375 7/45 29.74 2.72 65.5 25/15/3
    List A 87 124 8/10 26.94 4.26 37.9 3/3/0
    T20s 109 89 3/16 29.12 6.77 25.7  0/0/0

    Born in 1989, the left-arm spinner has played for the Bihar U14 side and India U19 and currently plays for Jharkhand, Delhi Daredevils and India A.

    He finished the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Ranji Trophy seasons as the leading wicket-taker, with 51 and 56 dismissals respectively, as well as being the leading wicket-taker for Jharkhand in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy, picking up 18 wickets in four games.

    The Delhi Daredevils picked him up in the 2018 IPL auction and in July 2018 he was named in the squad for India Red for the 2018-19 Duleep Trophy.

    Best bowling figures in List A matches

    8-10 S Nadeem Jharkhand v Rajasthan Chennai 2018/19
    8-15 RL Sanghvi Delhi v Himachal Pradesh Una 1997/98
    8-19 WPUJC Vaas Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe Colombo (SSC) 2001/02
    8-20 *DT Kottehewa Nondescripts Cricket Club v Ragama Cricket Club Colombo (Moors) 2007/08
    8-21 MA Holding Derbyshire v Sussex Hove 1988
    8-26 KD Boyce Essex v Lancashire Old Trafford 1971
    8-30 GDR Eranga Burgher Recreation Club v Sri Lanka Army Sports Club Colombo (Colts) 2007/08
    8-31 DL Underwood Kent v Scotland Edinburgh 1987
    8-38 B Mavuta Rising Stars v Mountaineers Harare 2017/18
    8-43 SW Tait South Australia v Tasmania Adelaide 2003/04
    8-52 KA Stoute West Indies A v Lancashire Old Trafford 2010
    8-66 SRG Francis Somerset v Derbyshire Derby 2004

    *Includes two hat-tricks

    Scorecard

    Photo: Manan Vatsyana/AFP/Getty Images

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    Simon Lewis