Published 15:24 IST, April 1st 2020
Harbhajan Singh relives battle with Shoaib Akhtar in 2010 Asia Cup in a throwback video
Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday shared a video of a moment from the 2010 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka where he squared off with Pakistan's speedster Shoaib Akhtar
India-Pakistan cricket match is one of the most anticipated events in the cricketing calendar. Even considered more significant than Ashes series across the subcontinent, there's a lot of heat involved when the two arch-rivals lock horns on the field. Reliving one of Team India's triumphs, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, on Wednesday, shared a video of a moment from the 2010 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka where he squared off with Pakistan's speedster Shoaib Akhtar.
Harbhajan relives the moment
Taking to Twitter, Harbhajan Singh shared a video of the penultimate over of the match which was bowled by the Rawalpindi Express - who then resorted to some fearsome bouncers - leading to a heated moment between the two with a war of words. However, Akhtar could not manage to dismiss the tailender and had to end his spell with India needing 7 runs of just 6 balls.
The equation boiled down to India needing 3 runs off 2 balls with tailenders Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar batting with the former on strike. It was then Singh who took the onus on himself and smacked Mohammad Amir over midwicket for a maximum to finish off the match in style. The battle was so fierce that even the calm and composed Indian skipper MS Dhoni, in the post-match presentation said, "It wasn't cool today. With a match like this, especially against Pakistan, you can never be cool. Thanks to Bhajji, you can call him an allrounder now."
The Most Heated Battle
The fourth match of the Asia Cup series at Dambulla saw Pakistan posting a total of 272 for the Indians to chase. Opener Salman Butt kickstarted the proceedings as he scored 74 before falling to a run-out while Kamran Akmal helped push the scoreboard with a brilliant innings of 51 towards the end.
As the Indian openers - Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag - came out for the chase, the latter could not do much as lost his wicket early in the innings. It was India's World Cup hero, Gambhir, who played some beautiful strokes to get ahead of Pakistan in the chase. The Delhi-lad was also involved in a fierce battle of words with wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal during his innings. Gambhir top-score for the team with 83 and was eventually adjudged the Man of the Match. Skipper MS Dhoni too, pitched in with a half-century, before Harbhajan Singh finished off in style to hand India a 3-wicket victory over the arch-rival.
Updated 15:24 IST, April 1st 2020