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After picking his first five-wicket haul on foreign soil, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he would prove his detractors wrong on more than one point in the coming days. “I read somebody has pointed out that I don’t have a good shoulder. I cannot bowl or make runs. I have given a fitting reply on the first two points. Hopefully, the third would also be set alright tomorrow,” Harbhajan Singh said after the second day’s play of the fifth and final Test against West Indies here yesterday.


Harbhajan claimed five wickets for 138 runs and made several hard throws from the deep to prove his effectiveness on foreign pitches and also allay fears on his shoulder. The young off-spinner, who completed 100 Test wickets with his first dismissal in this match on the opening day, did not play in the first Test because of a shoulder strain and picked only six wickets in the next two Tests in Port of Spain and Barbados where he was selected ahead of Anil Kumble.

“I don’t think I struggled in the earlier Tests. I bowled well in Trinidad and Barbados. I have bowled well and it was only a matter of time before I got wickets,” he said. “The five-wicket haul was good but I could have done better than this performance. Still, it is a good performance and I am happy for picking up my first five-wicket haul abroad. A lot and lot of five-wicket hauls will follow in future,” he said.

Harbhajan said he did not try anything special considering that the track was unresponsive for the spinners and credited his teammate Dinesh Mongia for providing useful tips. “It’s a good wicket but there is not much there in it for me so far. So, I just tried to bowl a good line and length. “Dinesh told me at the break I should be bowling from round the wicket to Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ridley Jacobs and I did well to pay heed to his advice,” he said.

Though he had modest success on this tour before his match, Harbhajan troubled star West Indian batsman Brian Lara in practically every match. “He didn’t face too many balls in this game. I don’t get overawed with reputations, be it Steve Waugh or Sachin Tendulkar”. He was hopeful that his team would make a strong recovery when play resumes on the third day. India closed out the second day yesterday at 141 for four in reply to West Indies first innings total of 422.

“It’s a five day game. You can't say anything. We just need one partnership in the morning. I am very confident we will make 350 or 400,” he said, adding that his own contribution with the bat would not be insignificant. “I have been practicing hard in the nets. I would prove a lot of my critics wrong tomorrow.” 

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