We took advantage of a slightly shorter boundary on one side: Nabi

When Auqib Nabi strode out to the middle with bat in hand, Jammu and Kashmir were staring down the barrel at 78 for six against Hyderabad in its Vijay Hazare Trophy Group ‘B’ encounter. With just four wickets left, the 269-run target seemed nothing but a fading glint on the horizon.

The 29-year-old, however, had other ideas. Nabi slammed his maiden List-A hundred to help the team script a near-impossible comeback. “When I went in to bat, I was not looking at the score. I just wanted to bat through. As we kept getting closer to the target, I felt, ‘Yes, we can do it,’ a visibly content Nabi said.

“In my mind, I knew the fast, short balls would travel far if I managed to connect. The boundary was slightly shorter on one side, and I was looking to take advantage of that,” he added.

Nabi was ably supported in his pursuit by Vanshaj Sharma, who also remained unbeaten on 69 when the winning runs were scored. “The conversation between us was that we would play like we were batting first. When we got closer, we became more cautious and played more responsibly. We managed to pull off a great win,” the J&K medium-pacer said.