Debasis Sen: It was a special Monday for Harbhajan Singh as he turns 37 years today. The man with 694 international wickets (across all three formats of the game) under his belt picked his top five spell of bowling for xtratime.in. With 413 Test scalps, Bhajji ranks third on the list of most successful Indian bowlers in Tests. He also has to his credit 259 ODI wickets in 229 matches, making him the fifth most successful Indian ODI bowler. The turbanator also packs quite a punch in the shortest format of the game. In T20 Internationals, Harbhajan is the fourth most successful Indian bowler with 22 scalps in 25 outings. Bhajji, who is now holidaying in London, ranks his spell of bowling in the second test against Australia at Eden Gardens as his best in his career so far.
2001: Eden Gardens Test vs Australia (123/7 & 63/7)
Turbanator always shared fond memories at the Eden Gardens. In his 7 tests at the iconic venue, Bhajji has 46 scalps including a hat-trick against Australia in the famous second test against Steve Waugh’s side. With India 0-1 down in the series, Sourav Ganguly’s team had everything to play for. In-spite of Harbhajan’s 7 for 123 in the first innings, Australia piled a massive 445 runs. India stared at a humiliating defeat after being forced to follow-on. Following on, VVS Laxman scored a sublime knock of 281 runs. Rahul Dravid too played a brilliant knock of 180 runs to help India post a mammoth 657/7, thereby setting the Aussies a target of 383 runs to win. Harbhajan was the toast of a capacity Eden Gardens crowd as he took 6 for 73 on the final day to hand the home team one of its best wins in history.
2001: Chepauk Test vs Australia (133/7 & 84/8)
Harbhajan continued his dream run at Chepauk, helping India to seal a historic series win over Steve Waugh’s Australia. The visitors ended up piling 391 runs in the first innings after Mathew Hayden scored a blistering 203 runs off 320 balls. All the bowlers received a thrashing against the burly opener, except for Bhajji who returned with 7 wickets for 133 runs. The home side too responded well in their first innings as the top order got going. Shiv Sundar Das (84), Sadagopan Ramesh (61), VVS Laxman (65) and Rahul Dravid (81) all scored fifties, while Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (126) struck a ton. The turbanator was at his supreme best, as he bamboozled the Aussies with his off spin, picking 8 wickets for only 84 runs. With just 155 runs to score the home side eased to a memorable series victory.
2008-09: Hamilton Test vs New Zealand (57/1 & 63/6)
This has to be Harbhajan’s best bowling performances in test matches on overseas condition. Before this Test at Hamilton, Bhajji had taken 17 5-wicket hauls at home, while just 5 overseas. For the most successful Indian off-spinner and someone tipped to take over the spin department reigns from veteran Anil Kumble, that didn’t fare well.
Harbhajan just managed to pick only 1 wicket after the hosts were sent to bat by India captain Rahul Dravid. The hosts posted 279 runs in the first innings, with tons from Daniel Vettori (118) and Jesse Ryder (102). The visitors posted a huge total of 520 runs with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar scoring 160 runs. The turbanator turned around the table in the 2nd innings with his match winning spell, picking 6 wickets for 63 runs in just 28 overs. New Zealand were restricted to 279, setting a target of 38 for India which they managed without even losing a wicket.
2010: Eden Gardens Test vs South Africa (64/3 & 59/5)
Harbhajan was under pressure to perform as the Indians suffered a humiliating loss in the first test of the series against the Proteas at Nagpur. South Africa were on top in the second test match at Eden gardens with debutant Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla slamming tons to take the score to 200 for the loss of only 1 wicket. Experienced Zaheer Khan saw the back of both batsmen before Harbhajan taking over the stage at his favourite happy hunting ground. The visitors slumped from 218 for 1 to 296 all out. The hosts took a lead of 347 runs courtesy centuries from Sehwag, Laxman, MS Dhoni and Tendulkar. The home side’s push for a series-levelling win was interrupted by intermittent rain on the fourth day, as they managed to pick up only three wickets. Hashim Amla played the knock of his life as he held forte at one end. But turbunator went through the defences of Prince, Duminy and Steyn before finally getting rid of Morne Morkel minutes before the scheduled close of play, scripting an improbable victory for India. He ended up picking 5 wickets for 59 runs from 48.3 overs.
2002, February 03: 6th ODI vs England at Wankhede Stadium (5/43)
According to Harbhajan, his best ODI bowling performance was against England at the Wankhede Stadium in 2002. In spite of his bowling efforts (43/5) the hosts ended up losing the match against England by 5 runs. The turbanator accounted for the wickets of Trescothick (95), Thorpe (6), Collingwood (2), Giles (0) and Foster (13). Chasing a target of 256 runs to win, the hosts were bundled out for 250 runs with one more ball to spare. Ganguly was the top scorer for India with 80 runs.