Published 11:19 IST, July 3rd 2020
Harbhajan Singh becomes first Indian to take Test hat-trick in 2001; watch video
Harbhajan Singh probably had the moment of his career on March 11, 2001, which made him a household name overnight when bagged a hat-trick against Australia.
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Harbhajan Singh celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday. The CSK star has been one of India's finest off-spinners who has won many matches for India and has also been a part of many famous wins. In his illustrious cricketing career, he has represented India in 4 World Cups and has been a part of the triumphant squad in the 2007 & 2011 editions. The right arm-spinner who made his debut way back in 1998 showed the world a glimpse of his capabilities in his debut series.
Harbhajan Singh hat-trick: CSK spinner becomes first Indian to take hat-trick in Tests
However, Harbhajan Singh probably had the moment of his career on March 11, 2001, which made him a household name overnight. The 40-year-old bagged a hat-trick at the Eden Gardens against Australia to create history. Harbhajan Singh has always been a relatively fiercer bowler against the Australians as compared to rest of the teams, which on most occasions has helped him bowl at them with even more motivation. Even on flat pitches and unhelpful conditions, Harbhajan made the Australians fight for every run.
The famous Harbhajan Singh hat-trick happened on the first day of the Test, which was dominated by Australia till that point. But at 252/4, all that changed. In the Harbhajan Singh hat-trick, he first got rid of Australia's rising star back then, Ricky Ponting by trapping him in front of the wicket.
Adam Gilchrist was the next one to depart as he was adjudged LBW on the first ball that he faced in the innings and the hat-trick wicket was of the great Australian spinner Shane Warne, who was caught out. Shane Warne tried to work the ball away only to find Sadagoppan Ramesh at forward short leg, who hung on to the catch. The last decision was referred to the third umpire who decided to give it out, making it the first-ever hat-trick by an Indian in test cricket.
The Harbhajan Singh hat-trick was a wonderful milestone to achieve during the initial phase of his career. The Australian batting got paralysed with multiple blows courtesy that Harbhajan Singh hat-trick and eventually, India went onto win the Test match even after conceiving a first-innings lead to the Australian team. India also won the series 2-1 and Harbhajan Singh was the architect of the solid win with 32 wickets in 3 Tests.
Here's the Harbhajan Singh hat-trick video
Harbhajan Singh wickets
The Harbhajan Singh wickets count include the 417 wickets he has bagged in 103 Tests. The Harbhajan Singh wickets also include the 269 wickets he has managed to grab in 236 ODIs. The Harbhajan Singh wickets consist of the 25 wickets in 28 matches in T20Is and his 150 wickets in 160 matches in the IPL.
IMAGE COURTESY: TWITTER/DIWAKAR_GULLU
11:19 IST, July 3rd 2020