Harbhajan Singh, the veteran India off-spinner, recalled how his 20-year-old self felt upon taking a hat-trick against the world-beating Australian side in the first innings of the yet memorable 2001 Kolkata Test.
Before VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's epic partnership, it was Harbhajan who enjoyed his moment under the sun, taking wickets on three successive balls to hold Australia back from 252/4 to 252/7 and ensure they don't end all possibilities of an Indian win in the first innings itself.
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Speaking to IANS, the 'turbanator', who was in outstanding form during that historic series, reminisced getting Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne out with his vicious off-spinners.
"It is a very special moment in my life. That hat-trick gave me a lot of recognition, a lot of belief that I could do it (at the highest level against a top team). I felt like, if I can do it against these guys, the best guys then I can do it against any other team," said Harbhajan.
"It is something which is very, very important to me as I said because it gave me the recognition and people suddenly started to rely on me. They felt, 'yeah this guy can do it'. The hat-trick and the series was a turning point in my life."
"Honestly I didn't think too much about the hat-trick. I was looking to bowl the best I can," he added.
In the pre-DRS era, Harbhajan said he was wary of batsmen just playing the ball around with their pads, knowing the umpire will weigh in that heavily in their decision-making on LBW calls.
"Those days, the review systems (DRS) were not there and lbw never used to be given out even if you did deliberate padding. Lot of batsmen used to play with their pads if the ball was turning."
"They would rather play with their pads than the bat because they wanted to avoid the catching fielders near the bat. (But) we had that plan that I will look to bowl full."
It's why upon dismissing Ponting and Gilchrist, Harbhajan could preempt that Warne would also look to use his pads to avoid the leg-before decision.
"I felt I should bowl full. It was his first ball, I thought he might try to play with the pad. I bowled a full ball, he actually flicked it with the bat and Ramesh took, maybe the catch of his life which in turn made my life," said the 40-year-old who has played 103 Tests for the country with 417 wickets.
"It was a moment for everyone out there in the park to enjoy. And I could see that from the way Rahul Dravid hugged Ramesh and the way he was celebrating the hat-trick as if it was his hat-trick. That is what the team was about. They were celebrating it as their own hat-trick," he added.
