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Harbhajan Singh (Source: AFP)
One of the all-time spin greats, Harbhajan Singh, served the Indian cricket team for more than 17 years in the Tests since his debut in 1998. Growing under the shadow of the spin legend of Anil Kumble’s stature, Harbhajan Singh earned a separate reputation as an off-spinner that is still used as a benchmark whenever analysing the upcoming and young spinners for India in the Tests.
Harbhajan Singh ranks fourth in the list of the leading wicket-takers for India in the longest format of the game. He bagged 417 wickets in 190 innings, including 16 four-wicket hauls and 25 five-wicket hauls, alongside five ‘10-wicket hauls in a match’. Harbhajan happened to be one of the top match-winning bowlers for India in the Tests, as he scalped 221 wickets in 84 innings in the winning cause, with 14 five-wicket hauls and four ‘10-wicket hauls in a match’.
Given that, here’s a look at the five best and impactful spells bowled by Harbhajan Singh throughout his Test career for India.
Harbhajan Singh’s five best spells in Tests
7/123 vs Australia - Kolkata Test, 2001
It was 2001, and the venue was the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, when India and Australia played one of the iconic and rarest matches in the history of Test cricket. Back then, it was only the third Test in cricket history, when a team won the game after facing a follow-on, as India defeated Australia by 171 runs.
Speaking of the game, the visiting skipper Steve Waugh won the toss and decided to bat first. The Aussies were looking quite comfortable in the first innings at the score of 252 runs for the loss of four wickets in 71.1 overs before the then-young spinner Harbhajan Singh ran through Australia’s middle order.
He claimed a sensational hat-trick, dismissing Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, and Shane Warne on the successive balls and taking Australia’s score from 252/4 in 71.1 overs to 252/7 in 71.4 overs.
Harbhajan ended up with the brilliant figures of 7/123 runs in 37.5 overs, including seven maiden overs. Furthermore, Harbhajan Singh also shone in the second innings, picking six wickets for just 73 runs in 30.3 overs to bundle out Australia at the score of 212 runs in their run chase of a 384-run target. Eventually, India won the game by a massive margin of 171 runs to level the series 1-1 before they won it by 2-1 with a win in the third and the last Test of the series.
6/63 vs New Zealand - Hamilton Test
India and New Zealand faced off in the first Test of the three-match series in 2009. The visiting skipper, MS Dhoni, won the toss and invited the Blackcaps to bat first. The Kiwis could score only 279 runs in the first innings, before India posted a mammoth 520-run total to take a decisive lead of 241 runs.
Later in the second innings, the hosts’ batting attack looked helpless against Harbhajan Singh’s spin magic. In the second innings, New Zealand were bundled out again at the exact 279-run total they scored in the first innings.
Harbhajan emerged as a protagonist of India’s bowling attack, picking six wickets for just 63 runs in 28 overs. Eventually, New Zealand could post a nominal target of just 39 runs for India in the last innings.
The opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid achieved the target comfortably with an unbeaten 39-run stand for the first wicket. Hence, India won the Hamilton Test by 10 wickets, which would further become the win to clinch a Test series in New Zealand after a long wait of 41 years since 1968.
5/13 vs West Indies - Kingston Test, 2006
After the first three games ended in draws, India faced the West Indies in the fourth and final Test of the four-match series in 2006. The then-India skipper Rahul Dravid asked his batters to come forward after winning the toss.
Batting first, India posted 200 runs owing to skipper Rahul Dravid’s 81-run knock, followed by Anil Kumble’s much-needed 45. To cushion the low total scored by their batters, the Indian bowlers responded with a fantastic performance.
India’s bowling attack, led by Harbhajan Singh, wrapped up the Caribbean side at just 103 runs to help India take a big 97-run lead in the low-scoring affair. Harbhajan Singh happened to be the showstopper in the first innings, with five wickets for just 13 runs in 4.3 overs. His unplayable spin left the Caribbean batters in a position of doing nothing but surrender.
Later in the second innings, India scored 171 runs, setting a 269-run target for the West Indies to chase before they were wrapped up at the score of 219 runs. Eventually, India won the game by 49 runs and clinched the series 1-0 after a 35-year wait since 1971.
5/29 vs Australia - Mumbai Test, 2004
The fourth and final Test of the 2004 four-match series between India and Australia was one of the most thrilling matches in the history of Test cricket. Although the Aussies had already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead after three matches in the series, the thrill of the last Test kept the fans glued to the game till it ended on the third day.
India’s stand-in skipper, Rahul Dravid, opted to bat first after winning the toss, but the decision didn't seem to work out as the hosts were bundled out at just 104 runs in the first innings. In response, Australia scored 203 runs in the first innings to take a 99-run lead. Later in the second innings, India managed to score 205 runs and post a 107-run target for the Aussies.
The target was initially looking at a touching distance for the visitors, but it was Harbhajan Singh’s spin web that trapped them in the last innings and made this target look beyond their reach. Harbhajan claimed a game-defining five-wicket haul, with five wickets for just 29 runs in 10.5 overs, including two maiden overs. His decisive spell helped India bundle out Australia at just 93 runs and win the low-scoring game by 13 runs to have a consolation after losing the series.
5/51 vs England - Mohali Test, 2001
In December 2001, it was just the 18th match of Harbhajan Singh’s Test career and his first-ever Test appearance against England. India and England faced off in the first Test of the three-match series at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, Harbhajan Singh’s home ground.
The hosts’ skipper Sourav Ganguly won the toss and invited England to bat first. The visitors had a tough time against Harbhajan Singh’s spin magic. The then-young off-spinner claimed a brilliant five-wicket haul in his first-ever Test appearance against England, picking five wickets for 51 runs in 19.3 overs. England could score 238 runs in the first innings before India scored 469 runs to take a massive lead of 231 runs.
Furthermore, India’s spin duo of Anil Kumble (6/81) and Harbhajan Singh (2/59) bundled out the Englishmen at the score of just 235 runs, with India getting a target of just 5 runs to chase in the last innings. The opening pair of Iqbal Siddiqui and Deep Dasgupta finished the game in just two balls, with the former hitting a boundary, followed by running a single to win the game for India by 10 wickets.
