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Over the years, the Indian Cricket has not only produced some legendary batting talents, but they also given the world some exciting bowling sensations. One such talismanic talent was the off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh, who won India the games on the back of his sheer bowling brilliance. With 417 wickets in Test matches along with 269 wickets in ODIs, Harbhajan ruled international cricket for 18 years. Moreover, in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Punjab-born cricketer accounted for 150 wickets. In addition to this, not only his bowling but also with a willow in hand, the 43-year-old was a lethal lower down the order. On that note let us look at the top five of his best innings in his illustrious IPL career;
5. 30 off 29 balls vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2011
In the 2011 edition of the IPL, the Mumbai Indians (MI) faced Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a crucial league match. In the home game, the KKR side batted first and posted a stiff target of 176 runs to win. In reply, the MI did not have the best of the start as they lost Tirumalasetti Suman (4) inside in the second over. The MI management made a shocking move of promoting, the veteran India spinner, Harbhajan at number three. Harbhajan also responded to this batting promotion and stitched a brilliant 57-run partnership with skipper Sachin Tendulkar. In his innings of 30 runs, the star off-spinner smashed five boundaries.
4. 33 runs off 22 balls vs Delhi Capitals, 2012
In the 2012 edition of the IPL, Harbhajan played one of the best knocks of his career when he scored a valiant 33 runs in just 22 balls. It was because of his fighting knock that the MI were able to crawl their way to a score of 92 runs in their 20 overs. The right-hand batter came into bat at the time when MI were torturing at 41/5 and then stitched a brilliant partnership of 34 runs with Clint McKay. Although, MI went on to lose the game, this knock from Harbhajan showed his batting prowess.
3. 45* runs off 30 balls vs Rising Pune Supergiants, 2016
In the 2016 clash between MI and Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), the world saw a whole new level of Harbhajan Singh’s batting skills. In the game, the MI team, batting were in all sorts of bother as they were restricted to 6/51 at one stage in the 11th over. MI faced a scare of bundling out below 100 but it was Harbhajan Singh who had other ideas. The prolific right-hand batter smoked an unbeaten 45 runs off just 30 balls including seven fours and one gigantic six. Eventually, MI went on to lose the game by nine wickets.
2. 49 runs off 18 balls vs Deccan Chargers, 2010
The defending champions, Deccan Chargers clashed with MI in match number 25 of the IPL 2010. After deciding to bat first, the MI side were struggling at 7/119 in the 17th over of the game. But then it was the Harbhajan hurricane which completely blew the formidable Deccan Chargers bowling unit. The legendary off-spinner played a scintillating knock of 49 runs off just 18 balls and helped MI post a total of 172/7. In his breathtaking innings of 49 runs, the star batter scored eight boundaries as well as two monstrous sixes. Later on, with the ball also, he picked up three wickets. For his heroics, Harbhajan was also adjourned as the Player of the Match Award.
- 64 runs off 24 balls vs Kings XI Punjab, 2015
The 2015 edition of the IPL saw the best of Harbhajan as not only he was picking wickets at regular intervals but was scoring runs when the team needed them. One such match was against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) when the lead spinner recorded his highest individual score in the IPL. Harbhajan played a mind-boggling innings off 64 runs off just 24 balls and kept MI in the hunt to chase down the total of 178 runs set but KXIP. The star all-rounder smashed five fours and six sixes in his outstanding knock.
