Harbhajan Singh at last touched the magical 300 wicket mark, becoming the third Indian bowler to storm into the elite club.

He joined country-men Anil Kumble (619) and Kapil Dev (434) in a list that all bowlers dream of but few survive to make.

The sensational journey began in the Indian summer off 1998 against Australia and reached a crescendo three years later when the Aussies came calling again and under the inspired captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, made the men from Down Under hop and skip to some Indian music.

Now, seven years later, when Ganguly prepares to bid farewell to cricket, Bhajji climbed up the ladders to rest amonsgt the legends. He has had his own share of controversies, with questions asked about his action and temper. All hell broke lose and for the right reasons when Bhajji stunned the entire world by slapping India teammate and IPL opponent S Sreesanth after a tense match between Mumbai Indians and King's XI Punjab.

Harbhajan was slapped a massive fine and asked banned for five ODI's. He came back against Sri Lanka in the Test series recently and made an immediate impact. Not only does he pack a punch with his wily off-spinners but bats out of his skin when the team needs him to stand up.

Bhajji has obviously enjoyed his duel with Australia over the years. He bowled skipper Ricky Ponting to pocket him for the tenth time in Tests and round off a duel that has been on for seven years now. He put behind Matthew Hayden's comments back in Australia earlier this year and has taken it upon himself to deliver and add some lethal blows.

It was a journey that began with a lot of promise but faded and got lost. The man stood up again and refused to be beaten back. Harbhajan Singh was always meant to be great.