Harbhajan Singh against Pakistan in World Cup 2011 Semi-Final (Source: AFP)
Former World Cup-winning off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh, had been one of the frontline bowlers for India in the ODIs during his career of more than 17 years. The Jalandhar-born off-spinner made his ODI debut for India in the Sharjah ODI against New Zealand in 1998, and the journey ended in 2015, with his last ODI appearance against South Africa in Mumbai.
He was also a part of the Indian team that won the 2011 ODI World Cup under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. The turbanator played a total of 236 ODIs and scalped 269 wickets in 227 innings, with a brilliant economy rate of 4.31, picking two four-wicket hauls and three five-wicket hauls.
He also won a couple of crucial matches for India, with his bowling excellence, be it in the bilateral contests or in the marquee international tournaments. That said, here, we’ll have a look at the five best spells bowled by Harbhajan Singh in the ODIs.
Harbhajan Singh’s five best spells in ODIs
5/31 vs England - Delhi ODI, 2006
India and England took on each other in the first ODI of the seven-match series in 2006. The visiting skipper, Andrew Flintoff, won the toss and asked the hosts to face England’s bowling first. India were bundled out at the score of just 203 runs in 46.4 overs. Interestingly, it was Harbhajan Singh who ended up as the leading run-scorer for India, scoring 37 runs off 46 balls, with three fours and a six.
While defending the target, India’s bowling attack was led by Harbhajan Singh’s spin brilliance, with support from Irfan Pathan (3/21) and Yuvraj Singh (2/32). Harbhajan ended up with his career-best figures, claiming a sensational five-wicket haul for just 31 runs in 10 overs, with a fantastic economy rate of 3.10, including two maiden overs.
On the back of Harbhajan Singh’s five-wicket haul, India wrapped up the visitors at the score of just 164 runs and won the game by 39 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Harbhajan Singh won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his all-round excellence, both with the bat and ball.
5/56 vs Sri Lanka - Colombo ODI, 2009
It was the final of the Compaq Cup Tri-Nation ODI series, in which India and Sri Lanka met at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on September 14, 2009. The visiting skipper, MS Dhoni, won the toss and decided to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar’s century (138 runs off 133 balls), followed by MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh’s 56 runs each, helped the Men in Blue post 319 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
While defending the target, the Indian bowling attack, led by Harbhajan Singh, choked Sri Lanka’s batting attack. Harbhajan claimed a match-winning five-wicket haul, picking five wickets for 56 runs in 9.4 overs to bundle out the Islanders at the score of 273 runs. Eventually, MS Dhoni’s men won the game by 46 runs and clinched the title of the Tri-Nation ODI series.
5/43 vs England - Mumbai ODI, 2002
After securing a 3-2 lead in five matches, Sourav Ganguly’s India locked horns with England in the third ODI of the sixth and final ODI of the six-match home series. The visiting skipper, Nasser Hussain, won the toss and decided to bat first. Marcus Teschothik’s 95-run knock played an anchor role amidst the other English batters’ struggle against Harbhajan Singh’s spin brilliance.
Harbhajan Singh claimed a brilliant five-wicket haul, picking five wickets for just 43 runs in his 10 overs, with a decent economy rate of 4.30, including a maiden over. Harbhajan’s fifer helped India bundle out England at the score of 255 runs in 49.1 overs. However, his efforts went in vain. India narrowly missed the target by six runs, getting bowled out at 250 runs in the second innings. Eventually, India missed a chance to win the series 4-2 and had to share the series 3-3 with England.
Although India lost this game, Harbhajan’s five-wicket haul to restrict England to 255 is still remembered as one of the top highlights from this game.
3/37 vs Australia - Indore ODI, 2001
After losing the second ODI by eight wickets in Pune, India faced Australia in the third ODI of the five-match series. Australia won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first in Indore. On the back of a 199-run partnership between Sachin Tendulkar (139) and VVS Laxman (83) for the second wicket before a ‘middle-order collapse’, India managed to post a total of 299 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
Later in the second innings, the Aussie batters fell prey to the spin web of the then-promising spin talent Harbhajan Singh, alongside the pace duo of Javagal Srinath (2/34) and Ajit Agarkar (3/38). Harbhajan registered the best bowling figures for India in this game, picking three wickets for just 37 runs in his nine overs, with an economy rate of just 4.11.
Eventually, India bundled out the visitors at the score of 181 runs to win the game by a massive margin of 118 runs and take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. This game also brought the young and promising spinner Harbhajan Singh into the spotlight, who had made his ODI debut in 2000, just a couple of months earlier.
2/43 vs Pakistan - Mohali ODI, World Cup 2011 Semi-Final
The stage was all set for the high-profile semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2011. The arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, faced off at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on March 30, 2011. The India skipper, MS Dhoni, won the toss and decided to bat first. India posted a score of 260 runs for the loss of nine wickets courtesy of Sachin Tendulkar’s crucial knock of 85 runs off 115 balls, with 11 fours, alongside Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina’s 38 and 36 runs, respectively.
While chasing the target, it was the combined bowling brilliance of India’s bowling attack that bundled out Pakistan at the score of 231 runs. Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh, with his two wickets, played a game-changing role in India’s win, as he dismissed two big wickets of Umar Akmal and the Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi to derail Pakistan’s run chase.
Eventually, the Men in Blue won the game by 29 runs to join Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup 2011 final, followed by winning the World Cup title with a six-wicket win against the Islanders in the summit clash.
