Cricket: Trying to solve the Harbhajan riddle

New Zealand's cricketers may have to call on pest control to rid them of an unwanted irritant they have inadvertently stumbled over in India.

Previously regarded as little more than nuisance value with the bat, Harbhajan Singh has emerged as a genuine allround threat as the tourists look to do the unthinkable and win a test series in India for the first time.

The New Zealanders arrived yesterday locked at 0-0 with the world's top test nation ahead of the series decider starting on Saturday.

They have more than held their own through two high scoring draws at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad although they have been clueless when it comes to combatting India's surprise batting weapon.

Harbhajan began the series with a test average of 18 so nothing prepared captain Daniel Vettori and his colleagues for what has unfolded as the champion offspinner peeled off successive scores of 69, 115 and 111 not out.

His back-to-back hundreds - the first time a No 8 batsman has done that at test level - have been counter-attacking affairs that stopped the tourists in their tracks.

He came to the middle with his side at 65 for six and in serious trouble at Ahmedabad then this week at Hyderabad the 30-year-old turbaned Sikh shared the third-highest 10th wicket partnership in Indian history as he and tailender Shantakumaran Sreesanth put on 105 runs to present their team with a handy first innings lead.

Now, with just two days before the series goes on the line, Vettori admits his side are scratching their heads over Harbhajan's unexpected influence with the bat.

"We do have plans for him but they are just not working out," Vettori said before the tourists had their first look at Vidarbha Cricket Association, the venue for the third test, today.

"Particularly him and (Virender) Sehwag have really put us on the back foot.

"Sehwag is obviously a key but if we manage to get through that Indian middle order again we have to be ready for Harbhajan.

"We will have to go hard at him because he's played so well in the first two test matches."

Quite whether the New Zealanders find a solution is another matter entirely because Harbhajan has feasted like a ravenous king on their bowling attack.

His series aggregate of 295 runs at an average of 147.5 has come off just 326 deliveries, containing an over weight portion of boundaries, both along the carpet and aerially.

Vettori, who has himself scored test centuries at No 8 on the card, considered Harbhajan's performances were a reflection of where lower order batting had progressed to in the modern era.

"There are no easy wickets anymore. When I started playing eight down was line up sort of thing.

"But he has played exceptionally well. He's a good attacking batsman and he knows his areas. Some of the shots he has played have been outstanding and put us under pressure."

While Harbhajan has flourished, there has been a growing case of navel gazing in India at Sachin Tendulkar's struggles in this series.

When the New Zealanders arrived on the subcontinent at the start of this month Tendulkar was in the form of his life, the 37-year-old having gorged himself with 1270 test runs this calendar year, including six centuries.

In a land where he is reverred beyond comprehension, it was widely expected to be a military routine matter for Tendulkar to tick off another one against the New Zealanders and so become the first man to register 50 test hundreds.

But it has not even looked like happening as the little master has made 40, 12 and 13, the latter innings at Hyderabad ending early in the first session on the third day when he was uncharacteristically scratchy before losing his head and charging Vettori only to offer an edge high to slip.

The New Zealanders, surprise surprise, are not complaining because they are naturally more than happy to see the back of the best batsman of his generation - and the sooner the better.

Unfortunately for them, to date Tendulkar's departure has only hastened the arrival of a new nemesis in the form of Harbhajan.

And he poses different questions which they have yet to answer.

- NZPA