Ten terrific cameos in ODI cricket

Robin Singh v/s Zimbabwe (48 off 31 balls), 1997

Trust the crisis man to bail the side out of a jam every single time.

Robin Singh, the 34-year old all-rounder, walked in when India were floundering in their chase of 236, having lost five wickets with only 110 runs on the board. He took stock of the situation: Eddo Brandes had been running amok, knocking over the opposition batsmen left and right, while drying up the runs and making it difficult to score.

The left-hander stole the singles, exhorted his partner Ajay Jadeja to run like an antelope, and kept picking the gaps to push the scoreboard along. After Jadeja’s dismissal, Robin kept up the scoring rate with the tail for company, and even managed to hit a couple of sixes over the leg side – his trademark shots.

Off the final ball, the batsmen tried to steal a bye, with Singh sprinting down the pitch as if his life depended on it. But Brandes, in his follow-through, picked up the ball and fired in a direct hit at the non-striker’s end, catching the all-rounder short. The umpire signalled a wide, and the game ended in a thrilling tie.

Both Robin and Brandes ended up sharing the man of the match award, and the all-rounder was praised widely for bringing his side back from the clutches of defeat.