Harbhajan Singh Biography
Young Harbhajan Singh bolstered his credentials after a successful home series against Steve Waugh's invincible Australia in 2001. Replacing an injured Anil Kumble, 'Bhajji' was crowned 'Man of the Series' in performances that stopped the Kangaroo’s record unbeaten run.
Prior to his ascendancy during that series, Harbhajan made a full international debut as a teenager in 1998. After a year in action, few noteworthy displays coupled with a suspect bowling action is all that emerged and he was eventually relegated to domestic cricket. His return after a two year hiatus was one filled with renewed determination, and epitomizing captain Sourav Ganguly's fearlessness. Following his stand-out performance against Australia, he forced selectors to rethink India's bowling line-up by opting for a two-pronged spin attack in tandem with Anil Kumble. Rarely did his bowling fail to yield satisfactory results, often being the source of bulk wickets for India. He added further repute as a player with his pinch-hitting abilities as a tail-ender. Harbhajan continued to haunt Australia on their return tour to India with another 10-wicket haul at Bangalore in 2004, in a series which India eventually lost. He did face criticism from various circles for being too defensive, a flaw rectified by honing the skill to flight deliveries.
Due to his short temper, controversies followed him. One such incident with Andrew Symonds gave rise to a misconstrued racism row. A run-in with Sreesanth in the first IPL season also saw Bhajji banned for the rest of the tournament. On the pitch, he was part of both India's failure in the 2007 World Cup and later its success in the ICC World Twenty20.
Following spin ally Kumble's retirement from international cricket, the mantle was cast on ‘The Turbanator’ (nickname), especially in series abroad where India usually played with a single spinner. He stuck to his task in India's series victory in New Zealand in 2009, the country's first such win against the Kiwis in 40 years. In November 2010, he scaled an unprecedented summit in his batting career when he scored his maiden Test century against New Zealand, helping India to save a match that was slipping ominously out of its grip. Although he was not a successful bowler in terms of taking wickets at the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan was India's priority spin bowler and played all the games in the tournament that India went on to win by beating Sri Lanka in the final.
The transition from one spin legend in Kumble to a potential one in Harbhajan is credit in part to the selectors for having an eye on sustenance. But it is Harbhajan’s willingness to improve and his never-say-die spirit that makes him a player whom fans love to praise and the opposition loves to despise.
Fast Facts
Harbhajan is the fourth most successful Test spinner in the world behind Muralitharan, Warne and compatriot Kumble.
He is also the 10th highest ODI wicket-taker among spinners.
Overall, Harbhajan is the 5th highest wicket-taker in International cricket history.
It took Harbhajan a total of 196 ODIs to reach a 1000 runs, the slowest as of 2009.
He is the first Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket.
His 32 wickets in the series against Australia in 2001 was most for any bowler.
His best bowling figures of 15/217 in Tests against Australia in that series is the 12th highest overall in history and the second best for an Indian behind Narendra Hirwani’s 16/136.
He is the 12th fastest to reach 350 Test wickets.
Harbhajan’s 5 instances of 10 wicket hauls in Tests is second most for an Indian behind Kumble’s 8.
He is among the top 20 bowlers in Test history who have taken 4+ Test wickets in an innings. With 36 such instances, Harbhajan lies 16th in the list.
He is only the 10th player in cricket history to take 350 wickets and score a century in Tests.
He made history as the first number 8 batsman to score successive centuries, a feat which he achieved during New Zealand’s 2010 tour of India.
Young Harbhajan Singh bolstered his credentials after a successful home series against Steve Waugh's invincible Australia in 2001. Replacing an injured Anil Kumble, 'Bhajji' was crowned 'Man of the Series' in performances that stopped the Kangaroo’s record unbeaten run.
Prior to his ascendancy during that series, Harbhajan made a full international debut as a teenager in 1998. After a year in action, few noteworthy displays coupled with a suspect bowling action is all that emerged and he was eventually relegated to domestic cricket. His return after a two year hiatus was one filled with renewed determination, and epitomizing captain Sourav Ganguly's fearlessness. Following his stand-out performance against Australia, he forced selectors to rethink India's bowling line-up by opting for a two-pronged spin attack in tandem with Anil Kumble. Rarely did his bowling fail to yield satisfactory results, often being the source of bulk wickets for India. He added further repute as a player with his pinch-hitting abilities as a tail-ender. Harbhajan continued to haunt Australia on their return tour to India with another 10-wicket haul at Bangalore in 2004, in a series which India eventually lost. He did face criticism from various circles for being too defensive, a flaw rectified by honing the skill to flight deliveries.
Due to his short temper, controversies followed him. One such incident with Andrew Symonds gave rise to a misconstrued racism row. A run-in with Sreesanth in the first IPL season also saw Bhajji banned for the rest of the tournament. On the pitch, he was part of both India's failure in the 2007 World Cup and later its success in the ICC World Twenty20.
Following spin ally Kumble's retirement from international cricket, the mantle was cast on ‘The Turbanator’ (nickname), especially in series abroad where India usually played with a single spinner. He stuck to his task in India's series victory in New Zealand in 2009, the country's first such win against the Kiwis in 40 years. In November 2010, he scaled an unprecedented summit in his batting career when he scored his maiden Test century against New Zealand, helping India to save a match that was slipping ominously out of its grip. Although he was not a successful bowler in terms of taking wickets at the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan was India's priority spin bowler and played all the games in the tournament that India went on to win by beating Sri Lanka in the final.
The transition from one spin legend in Kumble to a potential one in Harbhajan is credit in part to the selectors for having an eye on sustenance. But it is Harbhajan’s willingness to improve and his never-say-die spirit that makes him a player whom fans love to praise and the opposition loves to despise.
Fast Facts
Harbhajan is the fourth most successful Test spinner in the world behind Muralitharan, Warne and compatriot Kumble.
He is also the 10th highest ODI wicket-taker among spinners.
Overall, Harbhajan is the 5th highest wicket-taker in International cricket history.
It took Harbhajan a total of 196 ODIs to reach a 1000 runs, the slowest as of 2009.
He is the first Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket.
His 32 wickets in the series against Australia in 2001 was most for any bowler.
His best bowling figures of 15/217 in Tests against Australia in that series is the 12th highest overall in history and the second best for an Indian behind Narendra Hirwani’s 16/136.
He is the 12th fastest to reach 350 Test wickets.
Harbhajan’s 5 instances of 10 wicket hauls in Tests is second most for an Indian behind Kumble’s 8.
He is among the top 20 bowlers in Test history who have taken 4+ Test wickets in an innings. With 36 such instances, Harbhajan lies 16th in the list.
He is only the 10th player in cricket history to take 350 wickets and score a century in Tests.
He made history as the first number 8 batsman to score successive centuries, a feat which he achieved during New Zealand’s 2010 tour of India.
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh - Teesra Ball Action during Worldcup.flv
Harbhajan Singh Vs Shoaib Akhtar Clash | India Vs Pak Cricket Fight
No comments:
Post a Comment