In many ways, the 2001 Test match between India and Australia at the iconic Eden Gardens changed the face of Indian cricket. It instilled a sense of belief into Sourav Ganguly’s young said and it also gave them the confidence to stand up and make their presence felt against any opposition. One of the chief architects behind India’s stunning win was Harbhajan Singh and Sourav Ganguly has now revealed that he was convinced the off-spinner would go on to script records when he saw him bowling for the first time.
“They say it’s love at first sight. And when I saw Harbhajan bowl at Eden, picking up 14 wickets it was love at first sight for a cricketer who I believed would go on to change things for Indian cricket,” Sourav Ganguly said in a show on India Today.
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“And 800 wickets after that, I am not surprised. He and Anil were the two best spinners India has ever had together in terms of the no of wickets and the impact that they have had on Test matches.
“And when the young boys came in, I had some belief. I believed in match-winners, I believed in flamboyance players who are fearless. That’s the only you can win matches. I never played for a draw. It’s either you lose or you win. There is nothing in between.”
It was a series where Harbhajan was the thorn in Australian flesh as he picked up 32 wickets across the three Test matches which included a hat-trick at Eden Gardens.
{{/usCountry}}It was a series where Harbhajan was the thorn in Australian flesh as he picked up 32 wickets across the three Test matches which included a hat-trick at Eden Gardens.
{{/usCountry}}“It was a new team with no Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath two of the best bowlers of that time in Indian cricket. Harbhajan Singh was a new commodity. I played 3 different spinners in 3 different Test matches. 1st one was Rahul Sanghvi, 2nd was Venkatapathy Raju, 3rd one was Neelesh Kulkarni. And my only wicket-taker was Harbhajan Singh because Anil Kumble was injured,” Ganguly said.