South Africa's Simon Harmer turned out to be one of the game-changer in the first Test of the series against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Harmer registered two four-fers to help South Africa end their drought of Test wins on Indian soils which lasted 15 years. A couple of days after the win, Harmer recalled how the Indian media wrote the visitors off following Day 2’s play as they had lost seven wickets. He lauded the team work, especially from skipper Temba Bavuma and Marco Jansen to give South Africa a chance in the low-scoring contest.
"It was a foregone conclusion. The Indian media said this game was done and dusted. On that wicket, we just needed one partnership and I think the way Temba batted, his tempo, he had a very solid and definite game plan. There was definitely the belief. We were thinking we could have got to 150 there. And then we go out and Marco gets those two wickets and with Shubman not playing, they were effectively none for three. We thought we had a real chance. Everybody chipped in. It's cliche but it was a proper team effort," he said on 'talkSPORTCricket'.
Harmer revealed the talk in the dressing room after a disappointed Day 2. He also mentioned that the noise at the stadium was deafening when Axar Patel hit Keshav Maharaj for two sixes before losing his wicket.
"The chat at the end of day two was a chip and a chair. If you've got a chip and chair at the table, you've got a chance. Sort of manifesting that and for it to come into reality the next day, to sit back down, I think there's a few boys in the dressing room who have been on the other side of the result more often than not, especially in India. So they were extremely excited and chuffed. The noise when Axar was hitting those sixes in the stadium was deafening. So yeah, you're hoping things go your way, and they do," Simon Harmer added.
The Mumbai-based coach who changed Harmer as spinner
Harmer has been a legend in first-class cricket, whether it is County Championship or domestic cricket. The 36-year-old already had 1,000 first-class wickets to his name before landing in India.
The 36-year-old also revealed how Mumbai-based coach Umesh Patwal changed his perspective on spin-bowling during a trip in 2016. Harmer felt frustrated but it helped him evolve as a spinner.
"I think the turning point in my career was that trip to Mumbai in 2016. I got to work with Umesh Patwal and basically, everything I thought I knew about spin bowling, he laughed at. It was the most frustrating two weeks of my life. The things that I thought were important it was just thrown out of the window. The evolution from there, it's a constant learning process," he said.
"As an off spinner its the little subtle changes that make the difference. I love getting into competition with the batters and there's no better place to do it than in the subcontinent and the peak of that is here in India, because they are some of the best players of spin in the world," he added.
Harmer, the late bloomer
Made his Test debut against West Indies a decade ago, he has played 13 Tests so far, taking 60 wickets at an average of 23.38. Before the India tour, he filled in for an injured Maharaj and shared spells with him as well on Pakistan tour, taking 12 wickets including a six-fer in Rawalpindi.