5 high-profile bowlers and their bunnies

Cricket is a batsman's game. The willow-wielders are the rockstars that fill stadiums, with the fans shouting their name in anticipation of the next four or a gigantic six.

But it's also true that if the batters are the poster boys, it is the bowlers who are the soul of this beautiful game. There's nothing more pleasurable than seeing a bowler running at full throttle and outfoxing the batsman with a plethora of tricks.

Batsmen set up matches; bowlers win them for you.

Over the course of the last 140 years, we have seen a plethora of legendary batsmen who have made the game richer with their talent and skills. But most great batsmen have always had one bowler who has proved to be their nemesis, accounting for them on numerous occasions, making them their 'bunnies' in the process.

Today, in this article, we will look at five such bowlers and their bunnies:

#5 Harbhajan Singh / Ricky Ponting (10 times in 14 matches)

Ricky Ponting is considered one of the most dominant batsmen of all time. But his personal record against India is not too impressive, especially when compared to his global status.

The major reason why Ponting often met with disappointment as a batsman in India is Harbhajan Singh.

Ponting has publicly accepted that 'the Turabanator' is his nemesis, and the one bowler who has dominated him. The 2001 Australia tour of India was a big blow to Ponting's legacy as he scored a barely believable 17 runs with an average of 3.40.

Harbhajan Singh got Ponting 10 times in his 14 encounters between the two, which is the highest by any bowler against the Aussie.

We can argue that Ponting was relatively poor against spin, but his record in some of the hardest spin conditions - Sri Lanka - is quite good. Harbhajan was certainly a nightmare for Punter, even aside his struggles against spin.