Profile: Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan's elevation to the Indian cap in 1998 was a major surprise to the world because the 18-year-old was relatively unknown outside Punjab. An attacking spinner in the classical mould, he has not yet established himself in the side. The fact that he has not fully enjoyed the confidence of the selectors is one reason for this but his action being deemed suspect by the ICC has also stalled his progress. A stint with former England off spinner Fred Titmus seemed to have done him some good. The one quality that Harbhajan Singh is well known for is that he is a fighter to the core. For a purveyor of slow off spinners, his attitude is aggressive. He is back among the probables for the series against Australia - the opponents against whom he made his Test debut three years before - it is to be hoped that his best results could lie ahead since he has youth on his side. Harbhajan Singh's road to glory has not been an easy one. The 20-year-old off-spinner from Jullunder has been plagued by allegations of a jerk in his bowling action and insinuations of him having attitude problems. After almost losing his job with employers Indian Airlines and being saddened immensely by the death of his father, Harbhajan was reborn as a cricketer. Training doubly hard, the fiery youngster readied himself for the touring Australians. In the absence of ace legspinner Anil Kumble, India were desperately on the look out for a strike bowler. Bowling with a high arm action, extracting good bounce and considerable turn on good Test match wickets, Harbhajan Singh destroyed the Aussies by scalping 32 wickets in the three Test series. Harbhajan's performance had outdone the previous best wicket tally for an Indian in a Test series against Australia, beating legendary left arm spinner Bishen Singh Bedi's haul of 31 wickets in 1977-78 in Australia. What makes the feat especially commendable is the fact that Harbhajan notched up his wickets in three Tests as against Bedi's five. The most special moment in the series for Harbhajan was undoubtedly the hat-trick he snared in the first innings of the second Test at Kolkata when he dismissed Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne off successive deliveries. In the three Tests, Harbhajan returned figures of 4/132, 13/196 and 15/217, thereby leading India to a famous 2-1 victory.
In the course of the series, Harbhajan was constantly aggressive, giving back in good measure any on field chatter he got from the Aussies. With the bat too Harbhajan struck some lusty blows, earning kudos from teammates, scribes and selectors alike. The arrival of Harbhajan at the international stage as a force to reckon with has been a whiff of fresh air for Indian cricket. India were struggling in the bowling department and Harbhajan has answered the call handsomely.
Test Debut: India v Australia at Bangalore, 3rd Test, 1997/98
ODI Debut: India v New Zealand at Sharjah, Coca-Cola Cup, 1997/98
Harbhajan Singh is a happy man after picking up the Man-of-the-Match award Delhi ODI: Harbhajan's bhangra rocks
New Delhi, March 28, 2006
After the humiliating Mumbai Test defeat, there was a vociferous clamour to get the Indian team rid of its two 'burdens' - Sehwag and Harbhajan.
After the Feroze Shah Kotla encounter, those demands will gain voice in the first case, but will die down in the second... at least for the time being.
Turbanator produced one of his finest ever bowling performance in recent past to steal the first of the seven ODI series from England's grasp on Tuesday. His exceptional utilization of the low bounce and 'square' turn offered by the pitch had the batsman twitching and prodding at his deliveries.
With just 204 runs needed to win after a yet another forgettable show by the Indian batsman, the tourists stumbled and stuttered and finally fell short of the target by 39 runs.
Harbhajan back with his black patka, posted not only his best ever figures of 5/31 in the limited version of the game, but also top scored for India with an enterprising 37 in the latter stages of a disappointing batting performance, which proved fatal for the tourists.
Having won the toss and put India to bat, Flintoff must have considered himself blessed with recurring windfalls, when Indian batsman played rash strokes one after the other to signal their demise. At the end of the first half, the skipper walked back pleased as a punch, with the hosts just about managing to surmount 200.
However, Fate has a knack of dishing out personal favours to the underdog, which catches the opponent off-gaurd.
At 117/3, England were cruising towards victory with the deadly combination of Kevin Peitersen and Andrew Flintoff at the helm and no speed-breaker in sight - India's fate looked as good sealed.
However, the fall of 3 crucial wickets for just 3 more runs on board got the hosts that vital 'foot in the door'. From then on, Bhajji showed his true colours with the second five-wicket haul of his career, as India successfully defended their meagre total.
At the match presentation, Bhajji rightfully looked relieved and satisfied. "It feels great to be back in the wickets...it's been a while and it really is special."
With a special win in their kitty, India will further look to turn the screws on England. The second of the seven match series will be played in Faridabad on Friday.
 Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh take the bike for a spin in the outfield
The stage was set in the 47th over when Harbhajan - with 36 needed from 24 - clattered Shoaib Akhtar for a sweetly-timed six over wide long-on. The unhappy fast bowler replied a couple of overs later, giving Harbhajan an earful after the lower-order batsman played and missed at a bouncer. Umpire Billy Doctrove intervened to separate the pair, but not before a heated exchange.
Mohammad Aamer to Harbhajan Singh, SIX, 128.5 kph, Bhajjiiiiiiiii! He has absolutely smoked this one. Gets a length he can get under, and hits it with the sweetest part of the bat, over midwicket. HUGE. And he roars, removes the helmet and roars. As soon as he sees he has hit it clean, he looks towards third man, where Shoaib is, and roars. It is a primal roar, what a blinder from Bhajji, Akhtar makes a V sign, and looks away. |
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 | Harbhajan Singh Aggression The most famous six off all time, by Javed Miandad off the bowling of Chetan Sharma on the last ball of the final over at Sharjah in 1986, was believed to have such a crushing and psychological affect that a whole decade of Indian bowlers might have been affected.
Prior to Sharjah, Pakistan had lost six of their nine one-day matches against India. After Sharjah, Pakistan was to win eight of the next nine matches between the two, including five on Indian soil.
And now
Harbhajan Singh has done Javed Miadad or better. Hitting Mohammad Aamer penultimate ball for six, Harbhajan showed who is the better of the two.
Comparing Javed Miadad to Harbhajan Singh is unfair, Javed being a proflic batsman whereas Harbhajan Singh a bowler.
Harbhajan's towering strike of the match's penultimate ball helped India defeat Pakistan by three wickets
in a crucial Asia Cup clash at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium here on Saturday |
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Cricket: The New Reality Show! - Rajesh Chopra
Harbhajan Banned Issue......Sydney
Harbhajan Singh Marriage
Career Statistics:
TESTS
(including 16/10/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 35 50 10 521 66 13.02 72.06 0 2 14 0 O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 1572.5 351 4130 150 27.53 8-84 11 2 62.9 2.62
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 01/11/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 80 42 11 348 46 11.22 87.87 0 0 23 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 699 32 2916 102 28.58 5-43 2 1 41.1 4.17
FIRST-CLASS
(1997/98 - 2003/04; last updated 03/11/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 84 111 24 1618 84 18.59 0 5 38 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 3274.1 729 8947 351 25.49 8-84 21 3 55.9 2.73
LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(1997/98 - 2003/04; last updated 03/11/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 107 62 18 526 46 11.95 0 0 38 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 927 46 3841 137 28.03 5-43 2 1 40.5 4.14 |
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