In Pics: IPL 2019, Qualifier 2: CSK vs DC
IN PICS: IPL 2019, MI vs CSK, Qualifier 1
IN PICS: IPL 2019, CSK vs SRH, Match 41
IN PICS: IPL 2019, Match 18, CSK vs KXIP
IPL 2019, Qualifier 2 Preview: Delhi Capitals square off against Chennai Super Kings for a place in maiden final
IPL 2019 Qualifier 1: Suryakumar Yadav takes MI to fifth IPL final
IPL 2019: CSK out to contain Andre Russell in marquee clash against KKR
VIDEO: Du Plessis, Dhoni and spinners put CSK back on top
Had Anil Kumble not been injured for the 2000-01 series against Australia, Harbhajan Singh would probably have moved to USA to drive trucks. Instead, he was drafted into the side, and claimed 32 wickets at 17 from three Tests (including 28 at 15 from the last two). Nobody else had as many as four wickets.
But there was more to Harbhajan than that one series. He has not dominated a series the way he did the Australians on that occasion, but then, almost no one has. It is difficult to choose from his other famous performances — 7 for 87 against South Africa at Eden Gardens, 7 for 62 against Sri Lanka at Motera, 5 for 13 against West Indies at Sabina Park, 6 for 102 and 4 for 51 against Sri Lanka at Galle, 6 for 63 against New Zealand at Hamilton, and 7 for 120 against South Africa at Newlands.
His off-breaks can be vicious; he can come off the pitch at a rapid pace; he can move the ball the other way; all that, after he made a comeback after being called for a suspect action. Give him the ball and he will come at you at full throttle; give him an early wicket and he will smell blood.
Unfortunately, the converse has been true for him as well: if he does not get a wicket early in his spell, his bowling often loses the bite, making him resort to a flatter trajectory and greater speed, thereby sacrificing on flight, and as a result, turn. It remained the chief reason for his average remaining on the wrong side of 30 over an illustrious career that resulted in over 400 Test wickets.
With the bat he often resembles a helicopter with a single blade in its propeller, but it is a “technique” that has worked for him: a Test tally of over 2,000 runs with two hundreds (along with several breezy, entertaining cameos) do not come easy.
Harbhajan has thrived against Australia (95 wickets at 30), especially at home (86 wickets at 25). Ricky Ponting, in particular, has perished against him 10 times in 14 Tests; Matthew Hayden, 9 times in 13 Tests; and Adam Gilchrist, 7 times in 10 Tests.
At the same time, the nadir of his career also came against Australians when Andrew Symonds accused him of racism in 2007-08. Shortly after the incident, he was banned from the rest of IPL 2008 for slapping S Sreesanth during the tournament. He has been volatile at times, but there is no doubting his genius.
Abhishek Mukherjee
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 103 | 145 | 2224 | 23 | 115 | 18.22 | 3429 | 64.85 | 2 | 9 | 277 | 42 | 42 | 0 |
ODIs | 236 | 128 | 1237 | 35 | 49* | 13.30 | 1526 | 81.06 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 35 | 71 | 0 |
T20s | 28 | 13 | 108 | 5 | 21* | 13.50 | 87 | 124.1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
World Cup | 21 | 12 | 93 | 3 | 28 | 10.33 | 113 | 82.30 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 103 | 28580 | 13537 | 417 | 32.46 | 2.841 | 68. | 25 | 5 | 8/84 | 15/217 |
ODIs | 236 | 12479 | 8973 | 269 | 33.35 | 4.314 | 46.39 | 3 | 0 | 5/13 | 5/18 |
T20s | 28 | 612 | 633 | 25 | 25.32 | 6.205 | 24.48 | 0 | 0 | 4/10 | 4/12 |
World Cup | 21 | 1154 | 808 | 20 | 40.40 | 4.201 | 57.70 | 0 | -- | 3/53 | 5/18 |
Test Debut
India v Australia at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, March 25, 1998
Last Test
Sri Lanka v India at Galle International Stadium, Galle, August 12, 2015
ODI Debut
India v New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, April 17, 1998
Last ODI
India v South Africa at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, October 25, 2015
T20 Debut
South Africa v India at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, December 1, 2006
Last T20
India v United Arab Emirates at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, March 3, 2016
While the batsman was in pain and concern, Harbhajan walked up to the batsman to enquire if he was alright.
During the conversation with Harbhajan, Rana also revealed that this is a popular song in his friend's circle.
Harbhajan's last appearance was for CSK in the IPL 2019 Final against Mumbai Indians on May 12, 2019, 699 days ago.
Harbhajan Singh's childlike enthusiasm at 40-plus has floored Kolkata Knight Riders vice-captain Dinesh Karthik, who said the veteran ...
Harbhajan feels he will continue playing till he has the urge and the feeling to.
The new KKR-recruit reckoned Vicky Kaushal or Ranveer Singh could play the role
Harbhajan, in a chat with CricketCountry, claimed that had today’s era witnessed Yuvraj Singh in his prime, he would have been the ...
It was CSK, who denied DC a top-two spot in the league standing with a crushing 80-run win at the Chepauk, but this time DC might just ...
A look at the phases from CSK's six-wicket win over SRH at Chepauk on Tuesday night.
Despite the departure of Bairstow, Warner and Pandey kept up the ante as the duo forged a massive 115-run partnership for the second wicket.
CSK, who have lost two consecutive matches for the first time since re-joining the tournament in 2018 and have been displaced from the ...
The talking points ahead of today's IPL match between CSK and SRH in Chennai.
South Africa vs Pakistan - 3rd T20I
South Africa
Match begins at 18:00 IST (12:30 GMT)
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 6
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Match begins at 19:30 IST (14:00 GMT)
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - 1st Test
21 Apr, 2021 10:00 IST
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - 2nd Test
29 Apr, 2021 10:00 IST
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Malaysia vs Netherlands - Match 2
18 Apr, 2021 12:00 IST
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
Malaysia vs Netherlands - Match 5
21 Apr, 2021 12:00 IST
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - 1st Test
29 Apr, 2021 13:00 IST
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Nepal vs Netherlands - Match 1
17 Apr, 2021 13:00 IST
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
19 Apr, 2021 13:00 IST
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
Nepal vs Netherlands - Match 4
20 Apr, 2021 13:00 IST
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
22 Apr, 2021 13:00 IST
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - 1st T20I
21 Apr, 2021 14:30 IST
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - 2nd T20I
23 Apr, 2021 14:30 IST
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - 3rd T20I
25 Apr, 2021 14:30 IST
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 10
18 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 14
21 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 19
25 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 24
29 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
South Africa vs Pakistan - 4th T20I
16 Apr, 2021 18:00 IST
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals - Match 7
15 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 8
16 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 9
17 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings - Match 11
18 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 12
19 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians - Match 13
20 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 15
21 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 16
22 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians - Match 17
23 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 18
24 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals - Match 20
25 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 21
26 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 22
27 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 23
28 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 25
29 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals - Match 7
15 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
South Africa vs Pakistan - 4th T20I
16 Apr, 2021 18:00 IST | 12:30 GMT
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 8
16 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 9
17 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 10
18 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST | 10:00 GMT
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians - Match 5
Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs
South Africa vs Pakistan - 2nd T20I
South Africa beat Pakistan by 6 wickets
Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings - Match 4
Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by 4 runs
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 3
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs
Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals - Match 2
Delhi Capitals beat Chennai Super Kings by 7 wickets