Delhi Test, Day 4, Tea
Sunday, March 3, 2002

Harbhajan Singh has taken five wickets today, and three of them have given me a lot of heart. There was Stuart Carlisle's caught-and-bowled – the first time Harbhajan has ever dismissed a batsman that way in Tests; there was the ball that squeezed through Travis Friend's gate and rattled the stumps; and earlier in the day, there was Trevor Gripper charging down the track and getting caught at first slip.

The manner in which Harbhajan took those three wickets was refreshing. Typically, he looks to get his man caught at bat-pad, and that can often make him a one-dimensional bowler. Today, he explored other wicket-taking options by keep his length fuller and his line wider of off stump, so that the batsmen were enticed to play a few more shots. It worked.

Hopefully, the success he found today will have matured him. He has a big heart – 47 wicketless overs at Nagpur, and 12 more in the first innings of this Test didn't frustrate him. Each time he came back strongly to pick up a stack of wickets.

Harbhajan found good support in Anil Kumble. Sourav Ganguly persisted with Kumble even when he hadn't taken a wicket for a long time. One of Kumble's great strengths is that his intensity doesn't wane if he doesn't take an early wicket, and Ganguly recognises that. Sure enough, he was in among the wickets eventually.

There was another spinner for the Indians too - Zaheer Khan bowled an over of slow left-arm. It was a baffling move that we should all try to forget as soon as possible.

For the Zimbabweans, Dion Ebrahim showed the way. His method to play the spinners is to take a small step forward when the ball is released and then move onto the front or back foot once he's picked the length. It's a perfect technique to counter spin bowling. Though he didn't make many in this innings, more of his colleagues should try and emulate his footwork.

A victory is on the cards for India, and there is a slim chance it might even come this evening.

Sanjay Manjrekar, stalwart of the Indian batting in the early 1990s, was talking to Rahul Bhattacharya.

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