It's been a roller coaster of a ride for both the Indian side and
certain individuals the past fortnight. The team won three straight
matches only to falter yet again at the final hurdle. For players like
VVS Laxman, Virender Shewag and Yuvraj Singh too, it was an up and
down period. Success followed by more than one failure.
Amidst all this inconsistency, there was one player who maintained
high levels all the time. Harbhajan Singh who showed that he had
arrived as a match winner in the Test series against Australia, now
proved that he was adept in the limited overs version too. In the one
day game, restriction is the name of the game and one thought that
Harbhajan who is an attacking spin bowler, always trying out
variations and is unafraid of tossing up the ball would find it
difficult to adapt himself.
Such doubts were quickly cast aside as the 21-year-old
ace displayed both his ability to attack and restrict at the same
time in the Coca-Cola Cup. And he was simply magnificent in the period
under review when India played four matches. In the first game against
Sri Lanka he had figures of 10-1-32-2, picking up the wickets of
Jayasuriya and Vaas, who was promoted to the role of a pinch hitter.
In the last league game against Sri Lanka, he was again in fine form,
finishing with an analysis of 10-0-30-1, the wicket being that of the
dangerous Suresh Perera. In the high scoring match against New
Zealand, he had a moderate game, ending with figures of 10-1-46-0.
But in the final, he was back at his best. He harried the quick footed
Lankan batsmen no end and had them guessing all the time. The manner
in which he foxed opening batsman Avishka Gunawardene to have him leg
before was indeed a classical dismissal, the kind of which one does
not see often in the one day game. A little later, he also trapped the
attacking Mahela Jayawardene lbw and finished the innings with the
excellent figures of 10-0-29-2. It was only after he had finished his
quota that the Sri Lankan batsmen could really cut loose. Their
approach could best be summed up as: Play the crafty Sardar carefully,
make runs at the other end. At the end of the tournament, Harbhajan
had an economy rate of 3.42, easily the best among the Indian bowlers
and second only to Muthiah Muralitharan's 3.11. He was the Indian team's
one shining star and is verily, our Player of the Fortnight.
Inside Stuff
Harbhajan has overcome problems and succeeded, says WV Raman ... [ More ]
I bowl to take wickets, not to contain batsmen: Harbhajan ... [ More ]
Turbanator speaketh, beware the world! ... [ More ]
Harbhajan Singh: Succeeding in trying circumstances ... [ More ]
Harbhajan took his wickets with genuine skill: Prasanna ... [ More ]
Harbhajan Singh: The slim sorcerer from Jalandhar ... [ More ]
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Milestones
Harbhajan's hat trick in Kolkata [ Scorecard | Match Report | Ball-by-Ball | Player v Player Statistics]
Career ODI milestones on Stats Guru [ Click ]
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