Aaqib Nabi could not solve the mystery of Galle, Pata is an expert in taking wickets on the pitch, the bag remained empty on the first day

New Delhi. You are struggling to make a place in the Indian Test team and in the meantime you get a chance to go on a tour of Sri Lanka with India ‘A’ and on top of that, you get an opportunity to play on a pitch like Galle where there is nothing special for the fast bowlers. In such a situation, you can only sympathize with Jammu and Kashmir’s fast bowler Aaqib Nabi, who left no stone unturned to prove his ability, but did not get a single wicket on the first day of the second unofficial Test.

Galle is the ground where the Indian team has to play a Test match after a few days. There was not much signal from there because on the first day of the second unofficial Test, the Indian bowlers were seen yearning to take wickets. The host batsmen batted fiercely on the Pata pitch.

pale day of the prophet

At the end of the day, Sri Lanka ‘A’ scored 288/5, and Auqib Nabi recorded figures of 0/50 in 15 overs. On the other hand, his teammate Yash Thakur took 2/32 in 14 overs, while Gurnoor Brar took 1/49 in 14 overs. Just a week ago, in the first match played at the same ground, Nabi had taken a total of 5 wickets in both the innings, making it clear that he is a strong contender for the Indian Test team. But if he is not able to take wickets in this match, it will be as if he will have to start from zero again. This is how his journey has been so far.

Figures that tell the story themselves

What more does a fast bowler who has taken 104 wickets in his last 18 first-class matches need to prove himself? In the 2025-26 season, he took the most wickets in the tournament with 60 wickets, while in 2024-25 he was the best fast bowler with 44 wickets, where his average was only 13.14. His strike rate in these matches was 29.30, which is very impressive. The special thing is that he also took five wicket hauls 13 times in these 18 matches, which is the highest by any fast bowler in domestic cricket.

Sahan Arachige took over the innings

The host team started the day on a great note. Pawantha Weerasinghe and Sohan de Livera added 53 runs for the first wicket. Although the Indian bowlers gave some setbacks in the second session, but captain Sahan Arachige (83) and Anjala Bandara (42) together put the team in a strong position by making an important partnership of 99 runs. By the end of the first day’s play, Sri Lanka had scored 288 runs for 5 wickets.

Even the spinners could not show any effect

India ‘A’ spin bowlers also could not leave much impact on this day. Zeeshan Ansari bowled flatly with figures of 0/64, while Saransh Jain could only take 2/77 in 24 overs. The day’s play may have been disappointing for Aaqib Nabi, but his statistics and recent performance testify to the fact that he is a horse for the long race. One bad day cannot diminish his talent, he just needs one more opportunity, where he can show his edge again.