By IANS
New Delhi : Harbhajan Singh, who faced the ire of the Australian team and their fans through the summer, did not mince words as he revealed that the Indians won because they were “able to match” the aggression of the home side.
On return home from the gruelling three-month tour, Harbhajan said the tour was “special” and it was very satisfying to defeat the Australians in their own backyard.
Harbhajan also took a swipe at Ricky Ponting, saying the Australian captain wanted just two finals. “He (Ponting) said two finals and that is what he got.” Only that India won.
On dismissing Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds in the finals, Harbhjan said: “Both of them are good players as they can take the game away. I was happy to get Symonds twice in the two finals.”
“I wanted to do well on this tour. Australia is a dominating side and I am proud that I performed well there. They play tough cricket and I have a good record against them,” said Harbhajan at the team hotel.
“We knew that we would have to play hard cricket. But there were things harder than cricket that happened on the field,” he said.
“The drama started at Sydney Cricket Ground when Sachin and I were batting. They said very personal things against me. It appeared the entire Australian media and fans were against me, as if it was Harbhajan vs Australia. I took it in my stride because I had to get on with the game.”
“For me, this team performed the best and showed guts. It was very satisfying to win the Commonwealth Bank trophy. Robin (Uthappa), Rohit (Sharma) and Ishant (Sharma) have all performed well and have a good future. Ishant was tremendous. It was the best I have seen from an Indian fast bowler.”