Punjab fail to shrug off bridesmaid tag

Punjab are high on the favourites list in the build up to every major domestic competition, but have somehow failed to shed the bridesmaid status. In the last three seasons alone, they had been pipped in the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy twice, while they couldn't put it past Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final last year. Punjab had attracted greater interest this season, largely due to the presence of four players from the national squad.

Yuvraj Singh hit blistering form with the bat, while Harbhajan Singh's presence gave a lift to an otherwise inexperienced attack that had been further depleted by the injury to Sandeep Sharma.

On Wednesday, Punjab felt the pinch the most as an unheralded Himachal Pradesh side, devoid of big stars, stunned Punjab in the first quarter-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Alur. Robin Bist, a domestic journeyman, played a key role in HP's win, scoring his maiden List-A century in a manner few saw coming. It meant that Mandeep Singh's well-crafted century ended in vain.

Soon after the game, Harbhajan sat his team down in a circle on the field. An animated chat followed for the next 30 minutes, where most members of the team were left in rapt attention. While there wasn't much to suggest stern words, there was some serious soul-searching. After they dispersed from the huddle, Harbhajan was back to his usual self.

"More than the loss, I'm disappointed that we as a team didn't give Mandeep another opportunity in that tournament," Harbhajan lamented. "That kind of knock should have resulted in a win, but we didn't take our chance. This was a defendable total by all means. We just didn't convert our opportunities," he said, hinting at the two missed run-outs of centurion Bist.

Harbhajan expressed satisfaction at the progress of some of his younger colleagues, but stressed that a lot of ground work still had to be done if Punjab were to wear the champions tag, and not merely settle with the contenders tag.

"Very honestly speaking, we have won games as individuals but there's a lot to work on if we want to win championships," he said. "I hope the boys will realise this. We have pulled through on individual performances, but haven't been able to click as a unit even though we have come close a number of times. The team has to believe that we can win from any situation."

As the conversation wheeled towards Barinder Sran, Harbhajan put on the analyst's hat. The left-arm pacer finished with figures of 1 for 55 in 10 overs, but the scorecard wouldn't suggest the control he maintained in his first spell, which paved way for two breakthroughs from the other end.

"His strength is his bounce," Harbhajan said."He is a strong lad and can bowl quick. He may look the 130 kph types, but believe me, having faced him in the nets, I can tell you that he can be a skiddy customer. He's a lot sharper than he looks. He can swing the ball and has a good back-of-the-hand slower delivery which he executes well with the old ball."

It isn't too often that Harbhajan isn't asked about his own form, perhaps a good indication of where he is at the moment. Good returns in the ODIs against South Africa at home didn't translate into an ODI call-up for Australia, but Harbhajan said the prospect of playing for India at the World T20 kept the fire burning, with the hope of adding to his two world titles being the motivating factor.

"When you are out, you tend to try too many things. But the trick was to just keep it simple. It's a funny game, you just need to have faith in your own abilities and back yourself," Harbhajan said. "I'm happy with the way I'm bowling. I'm excited to share the dressing room once again with my good mates."