Harbhajan puts his hand up, praises team-mates

[DesiChap]

[h3]Harbhajan puts his hand up, praises team-mates[/h3] G Rajaraman (Sportz Interactive) Sunday, September 23, 2007 5:52:05 AM Durban – Sreesanth had bowled his heart out and completed his quota of four overs by the 15th over. Australia then regained lost ground by scoring 27 runs in the next two overs off Joginder Sharma and Irfan Pathan to need 30 for victory with six wickets in hand in the ICC World Twenty20 semi final at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground on a heady Saturday night. The rookie paceman Joginder Sharma was getting ready to deliver the 18th over when off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, the most seasoned campaigner in the India squad, walked up to his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and asked for the ball. The rest – as the cliche goes – is history, Harbhajan Singh stifling Australia with a magical over when he conceded just three runs and bowled Michael Clarke with a yorker. "Being the senior bowler in the team, you have to bowl the pressure overs where you feel the match can take a twist," Harbhajan Singh told the tournament's official website in an exclusive chat. "Australia needed 30 runs in three overs and Joginder Singh was to bowl the 18th. He is inexperienced and I walked up to Dhoni and asked for the ball. I told him that if I bowl that over and concede just five runs, the job of bowling the last two overs would become easier." He said it was necessary to have a big heart when playing against a top side like Australia. "You have to be on top of your game, soak in the pressure. The team looks forward to big performances from you. It was great fun to be rubbing shoulders against Australia again and it is nice to perform against a team like that. You have to work harder, more intensely against such a side. You can't relax even for a moment against them." The 28-year-old said anyone could have bowled that since it would not be easy to hit a boundary off every ball in the last over. "I loved the challenge and took up the responsibility," he said. "I am happy God is with me and I am doing a good job for the team. To be just playing good cricket is great fun. And beating Australia was delightful. "The last time we played them in an ICC event here was the World Cup 2003 final and they had beaten us hollow." Harbhajan Singh. "I believe that tonight we played the kind of cricket that Australia had played then. I think in the end, we outplayed them." Asked if he saw himself as the senior bowling pro in the squad, he was generous in his praise of his colleagues, taking pride in their performance. "Obviously everyone has been bowling well. RP Singh and Sreesanth have been terrific with the new ball. Irfan Pathan is chipping in with very good spells and has been taking wickets as well. It is great to see the three of them among the wickets," he said. "My role is to stop the flow of runs and also bowl the crucial overs. I am enjoying the opportunities and the responsibilities." Try and probe if he is hurt at having to sit out of the Indian squad in the recent months and he does not easily let you get a handle on his feelings. "You tend to feel bad when you are out of the side. Especially if you have play seven or eight years. There is nothing you can do about it. I am grateful to Surrey that it called me there at a crucial time. They needed me there and I bowled well and made sure that the team did not get relegated. If I hadn't been playing cricket, I may have been feeling worse. I am delighted I am back in the Indian side and that I am helping the team. We are getting the results and I am happy that it is going well." He is aware of the irony that India and Pakistan went out of the first round at the ICC World Cup 2007 a few months ago and are now meeting in the ICC World Twenty 20 final. "Cricket is a funny game. We had taken a big side to the World Cup and I was surprised that we went out of the first round," he said. "It wasn't the end of the road. We went through some tough times but we have had to take it in our stride. We are looking forward to playing the final and hopefully it will be a great game of cricket." Harbhajan Singh returned to his role as a senior in the squad. "This has been a good tournament and we are a young and inexperienced side but hats off to these guys that they have put up their hands and performed in difficult situations. It shows a lot of character," he said. "Look at how Rohit Sharma played the other day against South Africa. It was brilliant that he could play so well under pressure against the favourite team. It is great to see them take up responsibility and if they keep playing to potential, India has a great chance to be the best side in the world."

[apocalypse]

That was one great over by him. He has been terrific in this tournament bowling in dearth overs