Indians At County Cricket: Manav Suthar Takes 7 Wickets, Auqib Nabi Wins Hearts

Six Indians played in the latest round of the County Championship — wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, pacer Auqib Nabi, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, and left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore — with various levels of success.

Suthar, who’s slowly becoming a crucial part of India’s 11, claimed seven wickets as Warwickshire thrashed Hampshire by an innings and 129 runs in Division One. He picked up 3/42 and 4/52 across Hampshire’s two innings, bowling 38.3 overs in the match.

At The Oval, Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi made a modest but useful contribution as Surrey edged Yorkshire by one wicket. Nabi claimed one wicket in each innings, including his maiden county scalp against India teammate Kuldeep

Yadav.

A bigger contribution was perhaps his late six in Surrey’s tense chase, when they needed 10 runs to win with two wickets left. He got out soon after the maximum but had done just enough to earn the win, drawing huge praise for his boldness.

Kuldeep, meanwhile, would be disappointed because he didn’t get to bowl in either of the innings on the pace-friendly pitch at the Oval. He batted twice, scoring 17 (53) and 1 (5).

Chahar, out of the Indian team since the 2021 T20 World Cup, also bowled just two overs. He scored six runs in the first innings and batted at number three in the second for a duck.

Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal starred despite Northamptonshire’s 153-run defeat to Durham. The leg-spinner returned figures of 4/36 and 5/84, finishing with nine wickets in the match. He has now taken 14 wickets in three first-class games this season, continuing his success in England, even though an India comeback remains a far cry.

Sai Kishore, the Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Titans spinner, had picked up 2/59 and scored 20 (39) in the first innings of the ongoing match for Gloucestershire against Derbyshire.