The 2001 Test Series vs Australia was one which saw the emergence of Harbhajan Singh at the highest level and this series was his crowning moment as he took 32 Wickets in 3 Matches and after this he played for India for a number of years and went on to take 417 Test Wickets for India. India had lost the first test in Mumbai quite easily and the second test match was in Kolkata. Steve Waugh had called this the final frontier and he and his team were one step closer to achieving that goal. However at Eden Gardens something remarkable happened. 

Let’s talk about that Harbhajan Singh Hat Trick which was the first Hat Trick by an Indian in Test Cricket

The Turbanator was born 

It was the first batting innings for Australia in the second test match at Eden Gardens and they were off to a great start and were looking like they would post a very big score on the board. Harbhajan Singh was given the responsibility of getting India back in the game and he did exactly that. Ricky Ponting was on 6 runs and Harbhajan Singh first took his wicket when he got him LBW. This was an important wicket for India because Ricky Ponting was a very good batter. Then came in Adam Gilchrist and he was out first ball also LBW to Harbhajan Singh. India were back in the match but they still needed more wickets. The next batter was Shane Warne and he was caught out and thus Harbhajan Singh had taken the first hat trick by an Indian in Test Cricket. 

He got out 3 of the best cricketers Australia had in their team and thus the Turbanator had arrived in international cricket. This name stuck with him for the rest of his career. Australia had posted 445 in the first innings but India got out cheaply at 171 in the first innings and Australia enforced the follow on. This proved to be the biggest mistake they made as VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid played the best innings of their careers scoring 281 and 180 respectively and as a result Australia got a target of 384 runs to win in the 4th innings of this test match. It was always going to be tough as Harbhajan Singh had taken 7 wickets in the first innings including a hat trick so his confidence was high. 

He bowled 30.3 overs in the 4th innings and he took 6 wickets for 73 runs to win India the test match. This is one of the most historic wins for India in the history of test cricket. Harbhajan Singh had taken 13 wickets in the match and Eden Gardens had become the most special cricket ground in his career. India won the test match by 171 runs which is the exact same number that they made in their first innings of this match. It was held in 2001 but 22 and a half years later, it is still fresh in the minds of all Indian cricket fans. In the 3rd Test Match which was held in Chennai, Harbhajan Singh again took 15 wickets in both innings of the test match and India won this series 2-1 in style after losing the first match in Mumbai. 

Must Read | Best Harbhajan Singh bowling performances