ROSEAU, Dominica (AFP) ? India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh became the 11th bowler in history to capture 400 Test wickets in the rain-hit third Test against West Indies on Thursday.
Harbhajan, playing in his 96th Test, bowled Carlton Baugh for 60 about an hour and 20 minutes after lunch on the rain-affected second day at Windsor Park to achieve the milestone.
Harbhajan has not been his penetrative-best throughout the three-Test series in the Caribbean, and seemed to look to the heavens in relief, when he captured the wicket, which brought to an end a counter-attack innings from Baugh that ushered West Indies past the 200-run mark.
He received a standing ovation from teammates in the players' viewing area in the Billy Doctrove Pavilion, and pats of approval from teammates on the field.
Only former captains Anil Kumble (619) and Kapil Dev (434) have taken more wickets for India than Harbhajan.
He is also the fourth spin bowler to take 400 wickets, following in the footsteps of fellow off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, whose 800 scalps are the most in Tests, Australia's Shane Warne (708) and Kumble.
"Bhajji", as he is also known, made his Test debut against Australia 13 years ago in Bangalore, but he was dogged by controversy over the legality of his bowling action, and a number of disciplinary issues.
Three years later however, he shot to prominence against the Aussies, taking 32 wickets, and becoming the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Tests.
A finger injury eight years ago sidelined Harbhajan for much of the following year, when Kumble was the preferred choice, but Harbhajan made his return in late 2004, only to find himself watching from the sidelines in Tests outside of India, when there were challenges about his ability to succeed away from the sub-continent.
The next three years continued to be challenging for Harbhajan, finding wickets hard to come, and a number of other spinners were tried in the national squad.
He regained a regular position in the team in late 2007, but became the centre of more controversy on the tour of Australia.
In early 2008, he was given a ban by the International Cricket Council for unsportsmanlike language towards Australia batsman Andrew Symonds, but the ban was rescinded upon appeal.
He was also banned from the Indian Premier League, and suspended from the ODI team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for slapping fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth after a match.
Still, he was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, two years ago for his contribution to the game.
"Bhaji just took his 400th test wicket!! What a milestone!! Proud moment for your friends and family! proud of you mr singh," wrote non-playing team-mate Yuvraj Singh on Twitter.
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