List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Harbhajan Singh
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "fifer"[2]) refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[3] and as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[4] A right-arm off break bowler, Harbhajan Singh has taken 417 wickets in Test, 269 wickets in One Day International (ODI) and 25 wickets in Twenty20 International (T20I) matches for India.[5] He has the second-highest number of five-wicket hauls (28) in international cricket—next to Anil Kumble—among Indian cricketers and the eleventh among overall.[a]
Harbhajan made his Test debut against Australia in 1998. His first five-wicket haul came against the same team during the second Test of the 2000–01 series at Eden Gardens.[6] His six wickets for 73 runs in the second innings of the match raised his tally to thirteen wickets in the match; his performance was instrumental in India winning the match after being forced to follow-on.[7][b] In the third Test of the series, he claimed fifteen wickets for 217 runs, including career-best figures of eight wickets for 84 runs.[6] The majority of his five-wicket hauls in Test cricket—seven out of his twenty-five—have come against Australia.
Harbhajan's first five-wicket haul in ODIs came against England in 2002, four years after he made his debut.[5] He took five wickets for 43 runs in the match which India lost.[9] His best figures of five wickets for 31 runs came against the same team in 2006.[10][11] Although Harbhajan made his first T20I appearance in 2006,[5] he has yet to take a five-wicket haul in the format as of October 2019[update]. His figures of four wickets for 12 runs against England in 2012 remain his best in T20Is.[12]