Harbhajan Was Nemesis For Me Throughout My Career: Adam Gilchrist

Gilchrist revealed that Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was one of the toughest bowlers he faced in his entire career

Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist recently appeared on cricket.com.au's ‘The Unplayable Podcast’ where he recalled the famous 2001 Test series against India. During the conversation, he revealed that Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was one of the toughest bowlers he faced in his entire career. It was no less than a roller coaster ride for the mighty Aussies. Under the leadership of Steve Waugh, they won the first Test in Mumbai in just three days. Credit to Gilchrist’s fiery 80-ball ton that sailed the Australians to victory. But what happened in the rest of the series remains a nightmare for the visitors. “We were five for 99, I went in there, got a hundred off 80 balls, we won in three days and I just thought, 'What have these blokes been doing for 30 years. How easy's this? And how wrong I was. We've only got to fast forward to the next Test match and I came back to reality,” said Gilchrist. Post that loss, the Indian men made a terrific comeback in the next two matches and not only Australia, but the entire world also witnessed the miracle through naked eyes. “As it would turn out, by the end of that series we probably needed to learn how to put a handbrake on just to get a holding pattern, rather than 'attack, attack, attack' because it doesn't always work - Harbhajan bamboozled us. He was a bit of a nemesis for me right throughout my career. I found him and Murali probably the two hardest bowlers to face,” he added. Harbhajan picked up 32 wickets in three matches, including the first-ever Test hat-trick for India in Kolkata and was adjudged the Man of the Series.