Harbhajan - The unsung hero in India's Commonwealth Bank series win

I took the day off from work and watched the Indian cricket team play a wonderful game to win the Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Australia. While I watched all the hoopla around Tendulkar, Dhoni and Praveen Kumar, I could not help getting goose bumps as I watched my hero Harbhajan Singh give a hug to all his teammates and continue his uninhibited celebration.

Sure, Harbhajan was not the team's best performer through the series in terms of his statistics. Other than getting his best friends - Haydos and Symmo - out in both the finals, he did not do much on the field to invite much adulation. Why then, you ask, is he my hero?

The Aussies have been the bullies of international cricket for close to two decades now. They mow down their opposition as much with their abuse and sledging as with their skills and desire to win. To win against Australia, being a skilled team is necessary but not sufficient. You have to be fearless and arrogant first. Even though a bully hates to lose, he will tolerate the occassional loss. However a bully will not tolerate being challenged and stood up to. Do not forget that the Australians not only want to win, they also want to be loved as ambassadors of the game! Their bullying is supposed to be within the laws of the game! Michael Slater and Glenn McGrath will no doubt tell Dravid and Sarwan respectively that their behaviour never crosses the line. They play tough but fair.

What a bloody joke! The moment Harbhajan stood up to these bullies, they started whining. Their transformation into cry-babies would have been funny had it not been so pitiful. Two 6 foot 4 hunks decided to run straight to the officials and the media when they couldn't deal with a fiesty sardar who would not wilt. The Aussie media, match referees, spectators and the Aussie team orchestrated a masterful campaign against Harbhajan that is paralleled only by what Doug Jardine had to go through as a result of the bodyline series.

Harbhajan is my hero because he stood up to all this, and did his job for the team without batting an eyelid. His dignity and sense of humour through the Aussie on and off field onslaught was simply outstanding. The team rallied around the fearless sardar because he stood up to the bullies and still delivered the knockout punches.

I don't care how many wickets and runs were accumulated in this series. For me the defining moment of the series was the young Ishant Sharma showing Symmo where to go after his dismissal at the SCG. Don't for a moment forget that the inspiration came from Bhajji standing up to the bullies! The 15% match fee was well spent after all!