Comparing two different exponents of the same craft is something that must be done with great care. Although it is a difficult task, I shall in this column analyse Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh as two rival off spinners.

At the outset one has to consider one very important thing - the experience factor. While Murali has been around for a long time, Harbhajan Singh's entry to the international stage is only a recent occurrence. Keeping this in mind, let us look at some things that came to light in the recently concluded series in Sri Lanka.

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The first thing about Murali is his temperament and that is why I would like to call him the 'smiling assassin.' The Sri Lankan offie is very strong when it comes to the fundamentals of spin bowling, especially the control he has in maintaining an attacking line and length. Add to that the fact that he has a superbly disguised delivery, the one that is delivered from the back of the hand. The advantage with this delivery is that it either goes straight on, or leaves the right handed batsman and this keeps the batsman guessing. This combined with the tempting loop he imparts to the ball makes him a very dangerous customer as he tempts the batsmen forward to play a defensive stroke without actually getting to the pitch of the ball.

Even if you manage to pick Murali's 'mystery ball', he still has enough tricks up his sleeve to shake up batsmen. He varies his line by using the width of the bowling crease to good effect. By sending a few quick deliveries, he makes the batsmen hurry on their strokes, having already committed to an initial movement. All these variations however, would be of no use if not for one important thing the tremendous spin Murali imparts on the ball. Just giving the ball a big tweak and waiting patiently helps Murali tremendously. The waiting game is one that every spinner must play well, and Murali has mastered this art.

In comparison, I feel that Harbhajan Singh's youthful exuberance hinders his progress. He seems impatient and expects to get a wicket off almost every ball he bowls. This restricts him. In order to overcome this, the young offspinner must do some serious introspection and learn more about his own strengths and weaknesses.

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Harbhajan will benefit tremendously when he understands that offspin bowling is as much about thinking the batsmen out as anything else. The foundation for any plan is consistently bowling a good line and length. In addition to this, the art of flighting the ball is essential when you need to beat batsmen on good wickets.

The fact that Harbhajan Singh is not a specially big turner of the ball means that batsmen can play him out with some degree of ease when they are in no hurry. To his credit, one must say that he has a good 'leg-cutter' and this makes things very difficult for left handers. The same ball however is much easier for the right handers to play as he doesn't really deceive them in the air. Also, Harbhajan Singh is a bit too quick in the air, and this makes him more dangerous on soft and rain affected wickets. In conclusion, I must stress that Harbhajan must bowl a tight line to a set field if he wants to be successful in all conditions.

Having seen and played with many great spinners over the years, I would like to say that the comparison between the two is not completely a fair one. Murali has 350 Test wickets while Harbhajan Singh is just embarking on his career. There is however one good reason why the comparison could help. Harbhajan Singh will then be able to bring about the small changes necessary, fine tune his game, and that would be for the good of Indian cricket.

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