Harbhajan Singh says he is once again hoping to take the prize scalp of Ricky Ponting in the upcoming four-Test series.

The first Test between India and Australia will start on Thursday at Bangalore.

Harbhajan, who was in Kolkata for a promotional event on the occasion of Durga Puja, said: "I've heard a lot about the festival from Sourav (Ganguly) and Laxmi (Ratan Shukla). I've come here to take the blessing of the Goddess to do well in the series and take the wicket of Ricky Ponting."
The 33-year-old Australian captain's batting average in India matches that of a tail-ender averaging 12.28 in eight Tests.

Having made his first appearance in the country in 1996 with Mark Taylor's team, Ponting has failed miserably as he has managed to score just 172 runs -- with one half-century -- in 14 Test innings on Indian soil.

Of the 14 occasions, Ponting fell 13 times to the spin bowling with his worst coming in 2001 when he was dismissed on five occasions by the Indian offie, earning the sobriquet of "Harbhajan's bunny".

But Harbhajan feels that it will be a tough contest as always and the Aussies have come with a strong batting line-up.

"We are all excited for the series ahead. India and Australia series have seen some good competition in the past and I hope this time also we will see some great fight," said the 28-year-old.

Known as the Australians' nemesis, Harbhajan added, "They have come with a good side but we will have home advantage and we hope to use the conditions well."

Asked whether he would miss his bete-noire Andrew Symonds, Harbhajan refused to comment saying, "Next question please..." Wishing Ganguly luck for the series, Harbhajan said, "He is great batsman. He is very sharp minded. I've played under his captaincy. I hope he does well in the series."

He added that the best is yet to come from the Big Four (Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman) and hoped that they would be at their best in the upcoming home series.

"It will be a long time when the Australians come next. Everybody knows that and so I hope they (the seniors) will be at their best in the forthcoming series."

Delighted with the way Yuvraj Singh batted and scored a century against the Aussies in the match against Board President's XI in Hyderabad today, Harbhajan hoped that his Punjab teammate will returns to Test side soon.

"He is a good player. You cannot judge somebody just because of one performance, I am sure he will again return to the Test side."