Top 4 records held by Harbhajan Singh in Test match cricket

The cricket world is celebrating the 45th birthday of the legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh, who defined spin bowling with fingers in a whole new dimension. Throughout his career, the former Indian cricketer created multiple records across the formats. In the era of cricket when it was mostly dominated by powerful hitting batters, Harbhajan was marked as one of the rarest bowlers in his era. Through this article, we'll explore the top 4 Test records Singh holds under his belt. 

Top 4 records of Harbhajan Singh in Test cricket:

Best figures in a match in Tests: 

The Punjab-born has one of the best bowling records in a Test match. In 2001, against Australia, Harbhajan produced some of the best moments of his career. On March 18, 2001, in Chennai, he took 15 wickets against the mighty Aussies in a Test match. In his 80.1-over spell, the blower hailing from Jalandhar took 15 scalps against 217 runs and 26 maiden overs. Matthew Hayden's first innings 203-run went in vain when India won the match by 2 wickets. The decorated spinner bagged 7 wickets in the first innings and 8 in the following innings. 

Best strike rate in an innings in Tests:

When he used to find his rhythm, the 'Turbunator' was unstoppable. In 2006, Harbhajan single-handedly took on the West Indies batting line-up. Through this Test match, held in Kingston on June 30, 2006, Singh took 5 wickets in the first innings. During his 4.3-over spell, the right-hander clinched the wickets of Daren Ganga, Dwayne Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Denesh Ramdin, and Pedro Collins against 13 runs, with an economy rate of 2.88. This bowling figure earned him one of the best strike rates (5.40) records in the Whites. In the low-scoring match, India won by 49 runs. 

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Most consecutive ten-wickets-in-a-match in Tests:

A 10-wicket haul in a Test match is a dream of many bowlers yet to cherish. Harbhajan took 10 wickets in a Test match 5 times. A couple of 10-wicket figures came in back-to-back matches. Claiming 10 scalps in consecutive games is a record. In 2001, during the Test series against Australia, Singh caught everyone by surprise. On March 11 at the Eden Gardens, the off-break bowler produced a figure of 13/196, and on March 18 in Chennai, he took a total of 15 wickets against 217 runs. On both occasions, India won the match. During the match in Kolkata, VVS Laxman played his iconic 281-run knock. 

Most balls bowled in a career in Tests:

Numbers in the segment show how Team India opted to rely on Harbhajan Singh. After legendary Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh is the second-best bowler to bowl the most deliveries in Tests for India. Throughout his career, he delivered 28,580 deliveries in the longest format of the game and took a total of 417 wickets with an economy rate of 2.84.