India reassert Test supremacy with Bhajji's fifer

He did it to Australia in 2001 and now the ‘Turbanator’ returned to shatter the Proteas’ dream of regaining their number one Test status. With less than 15 minutes to go in the match, Harbhajan Singh wrapped Morne Morkel on his pads to bowl India to an innings and 58-run victory at the Eden Gardens. With this nerve-wracking victory, India drew level in the series and held on to their Test crown.

Harbhajan Singh wrapped up a nerve-wracking victory for India by registering his 24th five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

The Kolkata Test was not only crucial for Team India to reassert their Test supremacy but also to prove themselves worthy of the title of the world’s best team. Coming after an innings humiliation in Nagpur, the Indians not only fought the strong Proteas but also the weather and injuries to their key players to register one of the most thrilling Test victories.
But on their way to the win, the Indians had to battle hard against one man, who stood between them and victory like the Rock of Gibraltar. Hashim Amla batted for 394 balls for his knock of 123 and emerged undefeated in the end. The South African batsman followed his Nagpur double hundred with a century in both innings of the Kolkata Test. For his 494 runs in the series, losing his wicket only once, Hashim Amla was the most deserving player of the series and the man of the match.
The absence of injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan meant other bowlers had to rise to the occasion if India were to seize the moment. And they didn’t disappoint. Together, they made sure Hashim Amla’s dogged resilience goes in vain. Amla was the only man who stood tall for the Proteas, as his teammates left him stranded.
The spin-duo Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra bowled their heart out on the track with minimum of assistance. They combined guile and discipline, sharing eight wickets between them in the second innings.
Harbhajan troubled the batsmen with tossed up deliveries and the bounce they generated. The hard work paid rich dividends and the off-spinner walked away with the 24th five-wicket haul of his Test career.
First, he dismissed Ashwell Prince with a flighted delivery, as the batsman obliged with a dolly to Ishant Sharma at mid-off. JP Duminy’s dreaded run continued when he was deceived by Harbhajan with one that spun into the left-hander. Soon enough, the off-spinner ended Dale Steyn’s dodgy stay at the wicket by wrapping him on his pads with a tossed up straighter delivery.

Hashim Amla, easily the best batsman of the series with 494 runs, remained undefeated at 123.

Amit Mishra too bowled beautifully and maintained a good line. He was a tad unfortunate as a few edges fell short of the close-in fielders. However, the leggie struck with a googly and sent AB de Villiers packing. This was Mishra’s third scalp of the innings, after he had gotten rid of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis on day-four. It’s fair to say that the Indian bowlers would have finished things off much earlier, had they got a little more support from the fielders. The bowlers hardly got any advantage of having men all around the bat, as catches kept going down.
First, Murali Vijay, at forward short-leg was slow to react to an edge of Prince’s bat, then it was Suresh Raina who grassed a simple chance at gully and Badrinath failed to hold on to one at silly point.
Amidst all the chaos, Hashim Amla stood tall, unflustered and determined, notching up a dogged century. Amla was as focused as a monk. He was completely unaffected by whatever was happening around him and just concentrated on his job. At no point did he look like getting out.
The Proteas batsman was an epitome of patience. Amla refused to fall for any bait the Indian bowlers tempted him with and left alone everything that pitched out of his reach.
Amla found help from the other end in form of Parnell and then Morne Morkel. While Parnell hung in there for 80 balls to put up 70 runs with Amla, Morkel soaked in all the pressure and fought on for 60 deliveries to keep the Indians at bay until Harbhajan dismissed him with a beauty.
India felt the absence of Zaheer Khan when Ishant was completely wayward and ineffective with the new ball. The lanky pacer struggled with his rhythm and it showed in his erring line and length. He also pleaded guilty of giving away extra runs by way of wides and no-balls. Later, Ishant made amends with the wickets of Parnell and Paul Harris. Immediately after the tea interval, he had Parnell caught by Harbhajan at mid-on and then Harris by Dinesh Karthik in slip.