Top 5 spells of Harbhajan Singh against Australia in India
India and Australia will be locking horns with each other in a four-match Test series and the buzz has already taken center-stage. Over the past few decades, Indo-Aussie clashes have been electrifying, to say the least.
Several players have emerged during this phase, one of them is the legendary off-break bowler Harbhajan Singh. Albeit the Turbanator isn’t currently a part of the Indian setup, his contribution can’t be looked down on by any stretch of the imagination.
He relished having a crack at the Kangaroos and never shied away from expressing himself, be it with the ball in hand or with words. As we move along, we recollect five of the best spells by Bhajji against Australia in India.
#5 7/123, Kolkata (1st innings) – 2001
Probably, it was the spell that not only broke the backbone of the Aussie batting line-up, but also injected inspiration in the Indian team to stage a comeback. Eden Gardens was enthralled to an opera of scintillating bowling by Harbhajan Singh, which’s afresh even after 16 years.
Australia had got India on the mat with Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer milking the Indian bowlers with ease. The Turbanator came to the Men in Blue’s rescue by snapping up the hulking Hayden, who was on the threshold of a century.
The best of Bhajji was yet to unfold and it started on the second ball of the 72nd over when he scampered to become the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket. Ricky Ponting was trapped in front, going for a flick which was followed by a first ball duck for Adam Gilchrist.
The Indians went cock-a-hoop when Sadagopan Ramesh pulled off a beauty at short-leg to get rid of Shane Warne and give Bhajji his fifth wicket.