After an impressive five-wicket haul in the first innings of the fifth Test at Jamaica, Harbhajan Singh said that his performance was a riposte to the critics who believed he could not succeed overseas. Harbhajan finished with 5 for 138 for his maiden five-wicket haul in away Tests to help his team bowl West Indies out for 422 in the first innings. India were 141 for 4 in reply at stumps on the second day at the Sabina Park.

"A lot of people have said I'm good only at home," said Harbhajan, who rose to fame with a 32-wicket haul in three home Tests against Steve Waugh's Australians last year.

"I'm happy with the five-wicket haul, but I think I could have done better," said Harbhajan who has so far bagged 104 wickets in 25 Tests, including eight hauls of five or more wickets in an innings. "I'm happy with the way I bowled as there was not much in the pitch for me on the first day. I was just trying to bowl a good line and length. Hopefully, I'll get a lot of five-wicket hauls in the future."

Harbhajan said he now wanted to silence his critics with his batting and had been practising hard in the nets. "They've been saying I can't bat, but I want to prove a lot of my critics wrong with my batting. I'm practising hard in the nets and I hope to score runs in this match," said Harbhajan.

Harbhajan missed the first Test against the hosts at Georgetown due to a shoulder-injury before returning for the next two matches at Port-of-Spain and Bridgetown. He took three wickets in the second Test and as many in the third before being dropped for the fourth match at Antigua.

"I don't think I've been struggling on the tour," he said. "I think I bowled well at Port-of-Spain and Bridgetown. It's just a matter of time before I start taking wickets."

Harbhajan said he hoped the wicket would help the spinners as the match progressed. "It'll be good for me as well as the team if the pitch is going to turn in the second innings," he said.

"Hopefully, we'll get some runs on the board. It's a five-day game and anything can happen. We just need one big partnership and I'm confident we'll make 350 or 400."

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