Top five performances of RP Singh

Former India pacer RP Singh on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of the game. A bowler who, at his prime, had all the necessary skills required for a left arm pacer, will always be remembered for his 2007 T20 World Cup exploits. The pacer took to Twitter to announce his retirement. He is a bowler who will always leave a hollow feeling in the hearts of Indian fans for not achieving the things he was destined for.

RP Singh’s international career spanned six years where he played 82 international matches in total with a not so happy ending at The Oval in 2011. The Rae Bareilly lad, though, gave us some moments to remember in a short and crisp career. Here we take a look at the top 5 performances of RP Singh:

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#5. 4/35 at Rajkot against Sri Lanka, 2005

Playing only his 3rd ODI, RP Singh performed brilliantly at a venue known as the graveyard for bowlers. Small boundaries and a flat surface made this performance even more memorable.

RP was always known as a swing bowler who used favorable conditions to his advantage. But the performance at Rajkot showed the other side of his bowling; control and patience. He took the important wickets of Tharanga, Atapattu, Chandana and Maharoof. It was a start of many more match-winning performances to follow.

#4. 4/89 at Faisalabad against Pakistan, 2006

When he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe, RP was considered as a limited-overs bowler with a knack of picking wickets at crucial junctures. It was only after a series of match-winning spells that he earned a call-up to the Test side touring Pakistan.

His 4/89 in the first innings of the 2nd Test erased all doubts about his credentials as a Test match bowler. His wickets on this flat track included the likes of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan. At a time when Zaheer Khan had lost his sting, RP arrived as a breath of fresh air.

The fact that the bowling great Dennis Lille had labelled the Faisalabad pitch a ‘graveyard for bowlers’ 25 years back, makes it one of the best performances of RP Singh's career.

#3. 5/59 at Lord’s against England, 2007

At a time when the Indian team led by Virat Kohli is struggling to stitch two wins together on their overseas tour of England, it is a pleasure to talk about the 2007 tour which was the only dominant tour in recent history where the Indian team fought hard.

England had a lead of 97 runs coming out to bat in the second innings. The left-arm quick RP picked up his first 5-wicket haul in Test cricket and the time couldn’t have been more apt. His wickets included Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell. MS Dhoni’s unconventional knock ensured that India drew the match, meaning they got a crack at the series later at Trent Bridge.

#2. 4/13 at Durban against South Africa, 2007 T20 World Cup

In the inaugural T-20 World Cup, India needed an inspired bowling performance from RP to beat the host nation South Africa and get into the Semi-Finals. His 4 wickets included Gibbs, Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock.

Defending an average total of 153, India got the initial breakthroughs from RP Singh as he got rid of both openers. The South Africans never really recovered from the debacle as they fell 10 runs short of 126 which could have taken them to the Semis at the expense of the Kiwis.

#1. 4/68 at Perth against Australia, 2008

Given that the match was played after the monkey-gate incident of the Sydney match, it was important for India to let their cricket do the talking on a bouncy Perth surface. Indians bowled as a team with Pathan and RP both getting the ball to swing superbly.

The match is still remembered for a young Ishant Sharma troubling Ricky Ponting with his unplayable length, but it was RP’s performance in the first innings that paved the way for a historic victory. His 4/68 included the likes of Mike Hussey and Adam Gilchrist. He got rid of Mike Hussey in the 2nd innings too, thus playing a great role in India’s historic win.