A week ago, Shahbaz Nadeem was one of five bowlers sent to the UAE to help India prepare for the Asia Cup. Today, playing for Jharkhand against Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he returned figures of 10-4-10-8, the best ever figures in List-A cricket.
The previous best was Rahul Sanghvi’s 8 for 15, for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh back in 1997-98.
Rajasthan were shot out for 73 in 28.3 overs, which Jharkhand chased down in 14.3 overs with seven wickets in the bag.
Nadeem struck at the end of the tenth over, when Rajasthan were 32 for no loss, and the wickets tumbled thereafter. His haul included a hat-trick spread across two overs, with Mahipal Lomror and Chetan Bist falling off the last two balls of his sixth over, and Tajinder Singh lbw off the first ball of his seventh.
He was on track to get all ten wickets, having taken the first eight. But Anukul Roy – the 19-year-old left-arm spinner – got the last two batsmen out, ironically thanks to Nadeem’s own advice.
“People told me about the world record after the innings,” Nadeem told ESPNcricinfo after the match on Thursday. “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.
“I first thought of the possibility of getting all ten when I got my eighth wicket. But you get what is destined for you, so I was destined to get only eight today.”
Nadeem was at peace with the missed opportunity, emphasising that the team getting off to a winning start – after their first match against Haryana on Wednesday was washed out – was paramount.
“No, I didn’t think of it that way, that he [Anukul] denied me ten wickets. It’s natural to feel a bit disappointed if you are close to getting all ten and you don’t, but at the end the team won, so that was the main thing,” Nadeem said. (Excerpts from ESPNcricinfo)
