IPL 8: Ricky Ponting never let us stop believing we could win, says Harbhajan Singh

Before the IPL began, Harbhajan Singh’s name was barely mentioned in Indian cricketing circles. 15 matches, 18 wickets, an IPL championship and an Indian test recall later, the Turbanator is fully back in the limelight.

But he could have been forgiving for thinking that this was not meant to be his year, after Mumbai Indians lost five of their first six matches. The man who always dreamed of playing for India again , must have wondered if it’d remain just that – a dream.

As it turned out, Bhajji and the team never stopped believing.

In an interview with Mid-Day yesterday, Harbhajan said that Ricky Ponting had only one mandate throughout this season.

“From the first day, Ricky urged us to believe that we were playing in the final and winning it. That should be our goal. Even after four consecutive losses, he said my goal hasn’t changed. ‘No matter what, we have to turn the tide,’ he said. One game changed our mindset. One win gave us a lot of confidence."

That game was the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Wankhede, where Mumbai’s bowlers brilliantly defended a modest target of 158. Despite David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan getting off to a great start within the powerplay, Mumbai’s bowlers pulled them back. Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan combined to pick up seven wickets that night and that performance triggered a hot-streak of nine wins in their last 10 games.

“As a bowling unit, we did a tremendous job," Harbhajan said. “When you start winning games like that it gives you confidence. As a unit, you start believing in yourself. All you need is to just back yourself every time and give more than what you can. We (the bowlers) took the responsibility that no matter what the total on board, we will give our all.”

His personal form picked up from then as well, as Bhajji finished the season sixth on the list of leading wicket-takers. “I just kept things simple. I did not do too many things and bowled according to the situation. I looked to take wickets whenever the team wanted me to bowl. In this competition it is important to go for wickets and not look to contain the batsmen. You might get hit, but it is important to keep attacking. It helps the team."

Despite playing only three first class matches in this Ranji season, Harbhajan’s IPL turnaround led to the selectors giving him the nod for the one-off test against Bangladesh. With a home Test series against South Africa coming up later this year and a possible series against Pakistan in the UAE, Harbhajan would be keen to resurrect his career, which many people thought was over.