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 2019[update] only 48 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at the international level.[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]
Key
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Date | Day the Test started or ODI held |
| Inn | Innings in which five-wicket haul was taken |
| Overs | Number of overs bowled |
| Runs | Number of runs conceded |
| Wkts | Number of wickets taken |
| Econ | Runs conceded per over |
| Batsmen | Batsmen whose wickets were taken |
| Result | Result for the India team |
| * | One of two five-wicket hauls by Harbhajan in the match |
| † | 10 or more wickets taken in the match |
| ‡ | Harbhajan was selected as the man of the match |
Tests
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 March 2001 * † | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |  Australia | 1 | 37.5 | 123 | 7 | 3.25 | Won[14] | |
| 2 | 11 March 2001 * † | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Australia | 4 | 30.3 | 73 | 6 | 2.39 | Won[14] | |
| 3 | 18 March 2001 * † ‡ | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | Australia | 1 | 38.2 | 133 | 7 | 3.46 | Won[15] | |
| 4 | 18 March 2001 * † ‡ | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | Australia | 3 | 41.5 | 84 | 8 | 2.01 | Won[15] | |
| 5 | 3 December 2001 | Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali |  England | 1 | 19.3 | 51 | 5 | 2.61 | Won[16] | |
| 6 | 11 December 2001 | Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad | England | 3 | 30.2 | 71 | 5 | 2.34 | Drawn[17] | |
| 7 | 28 February 2002 ‡ | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi |  Zimbabwe | 3 | 31 | 62 | 6 | 2.00 | Won[18] | |
| 8 | 18 May 2002 | Sabina Park, Kingston |  West Indies | 1 | 38 | 138 | 5 | 3.63 | Lost[19] | |
| 9 | 5 September 2002 | Kennington Oval, London | England | 1 | 38.4 | 115 | 5 | 2.97 | Drawn[20] | |
| 10 | 9 October 2002 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | West Indies | 3 | 28.3 | 48 | 7 | 1.68 | Won[21] | |
| 11 | 30 October 2002 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | West Indies | 2 | 57.3 | 115 | 5 | 2.00 | Drawn[22] | |
| 12 | 6 October 2004 * † | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore | Australia | 1 | 41 | 146 | 5 | 3.56 | Lost[23] | |
| 13 | 6 October 2004 * † | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore | Australia | 3 | 30.1 | 78 | 6 | 2.58 | Lost[23] | |
| 14 | 3 November 2004 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | Australia | 4 | 10.5 | 29 | 5 | 2.67 | Won[24] | |
| 15 | 28 November 2004 ‡ | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |  South Africa | 3 | 30 | 87 | 7 | 2.90 | Won[25] | |
| 16 | 24 March 2005 | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |  Pakistan | 1 | 51.5 | 152 | 6 | 2.93 | Lost[26] | |
| 17 | 18 December 2005 † ‡ | Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad |  Sri Lanka | 2 | 22.2 | 62 | 7 | 2.77 | Won[27] | |
| 18 | 18 December 2005 | Warner Park, Basseterre | West Indies | 1 | 44 | 147 | 5 | 3.34 | Drawn[28] | |
| 19 | 30 June 2006 | Sabina Park, Kingston | West Indies | 2 | 4.3 | 13 | 5 | 2.88 | Won[29] | |
| 20 | 30 November 2007 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Pakistan | 2 | 45.5 | 122 | 5 | 2.66 | Drawn[30] | |
| 21 | 26 March 2008 | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | South Africa | 1 | 44.5 | 164 | 5 | 3.65 | Drawn[31] | |
| 22 | 31 July 2008 † | Galle International Stadium, Galle | Sri Lanka | 2 | 40.3 | 102 | 6 | 2.51 | Won[32] | |
| 23 | 18 March 2009 | Seddon Park, Hamilton |  New Zealand | 3 | 28 | 63 | 6 | 2.25 | Won[33] | |
| 24 | 14 February 2010 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | South Africa | 3 | 48.3 | 59 | 5 | 1.21 | Won[34] | |
| 25 | 2 January 2011 | Newlands, Cape Town | South Africa | 3 | 38 | 120 | 7 | 3.15 | Drawn[35] |
ODIs
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 February 2002 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | England | 1 | 10 | 43 | 5 | 4.30 | Lost[37] | |
| 2 | 28 March 2006 ‡ | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | England | 2 | 10 | 31 | 5 | 3.10 | Won[11] | |
| 3 | 14 September 2009 | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | Sri Lanka | 2 | 9.4 | 56 | 5 | 5.79 | Won[38] |