BBC SPORT | Cricket | Harbhajan keeps good company



By Matthew Allen BBC Sport Online

Harbhajan Singh's destruction of the West Indies in Bombay confirmed his growing status as one of the finest spin bowlers India has produced.

The "Turbanator" spun through the Windies' batting line-up, taking 7-48 to secure India's first ever innings victory over their opponents.

His flourishing partnership with Anil Kumble brings back memories of India's feared spin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkatraghavan, in the 1960s and 70s.

Record after 29 Tests

Harbhajan: 127 wickets at 27.44

Kumble: 131 wickets at 26.06

Bedi: 108 wickets at 27.87

Chandrashekhar: 125 wickets at 28.42

Prasanna: 136 wickets at 28.17

Venkatraghavan: 91 wickets at 31.68

Kumble has already established his reputation as a world class spin bowler, and after a slow start, Harbhajan's record now shows that he can be named in the same breath as the greats.

Harbhajan has now captured 127 wickets at an average of just over 27 in 29 Tests.

At the same stage in his career Kumble had claimed 131 at a shade over 26.

Both records compare favourably with the famous spin team that plied their trade 30 years ago.

But Harbhajan stands out for the number of five and 10-wicket hauls that he has inflicted on the opposition so far in his career.

Bishan Bedi
Bedi has an enviable record
He has now taken five wickets in an innings 10 times - two more times than Prasanna at the same stage in his career and easily beating the three times that Venkatraghavan had reached the landmark.

India's current senior spinner Kumble had managed to take half the wickets in an innings seven times in 29 Tests.

Harbhajan had to wait three years and 10 Tests until he claimed five victims for the first time in an innings, but he did it in style, taking 7-123 then 6-73 in the second Test against Australia in Calcutta.

Then the floodgates opened as the off-spinner finished the next Test against the same opponents with figures of 7-133 and 8-84.

Harbhajan has averaged a five-wicket haul once every two Tests since Calcutta in March 2001.

He still has a long way to go before he can cement his place in the distinguished haul of Indian spin legends.

But his appetite for wickets shows no signs of slowing down and if he can maintain the same form consistently for another 29 Tests he will have earned his place in the Hall of Fame.


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