Harbhajan in confident mood for Zimbabwe Test

Harbhajan Singh, the bowler they call the 'turbanator', is ready to weave his spin wizardry against Zimbabwe in the first Test starting on Thursday.

The tall 20-year-old is relishing the challenge on pitches that will certainly not suit off-spin as much as those he is used to on the sub-continent.

"I don't have much say about the way the pitches are prepared," Singh said on Tuesday as India prepared for the test at Queens Sports Club.

"Whenever I get the chance I just have to bowl well. The conditions are different to India and even the ball is very different, which is a bit more difficult.

"If we want to perform all the time then we have to manage these things whether it's in Zimbabwe or Australia."

Singh was a sensation in the recent test series against Australia in India, which the home side won 2-1 thanks largely to the spinner's exploits with the ball.

His near unplayable off-spin ripped through the Australian batting as he captured a phenomenal 32 wickets in the three tests.

That performance has ensured that he is under pressure to perform all the time, but with it came a large slice of confidence.

"I'm definitely confident and I'll try my level best to get more wickets," Singh said.

"Australia was just like a dream -- it was my dream performance."

Singh, who hails from the Punjab, sounded a warning to the Zimbabwean batting with match figures of ten for 80 against an Academy XI in Harare.

"I was very happy with that performance because the wicket was not very helpful," Singh said.

"There was no turn and it was very slow too, so now I'm looking forward to the test match and will try to get lots of wickets for my team and help win this series."

Singh has played 11 tests to date and taken 53 wickets, five of them against Zimbabwe in Harare nearly three years ago.

Mail Cricket Editor