An integral part of the Indian team, yet seldom the focus of attention, Venkatesh Prasad was the ideal team man, unagitated, and focussed in his work. In a short span of five years, he constructed a small yet invaluable career, despite possessing neither express pace nor prodigious swing.
Prasad was the ideal foil to Javagal Srinath’s pacy spells, mixing up his seaming deliveries with crafty slower ones. Gifted with the ability to swing the ball both into and away from the batsman, Prasad was a tricky customer on helpful surfaces, being the quiet workhorse in the bowling attack.
On his 47th birthday, we look at five highlights from his international career that defined him:
#5 Spell of 5-0 versus Pakistan, Chennai, 1999
Known to make the ball talk in seaming and swinging conditions, Prasad’s best figures are surprisingly on the placid wickets of Chennai.
The match is remembered best for Sachin Tendulkar’s valiant 136, overcoming back troubles to keep India in the hunt even when the rest of the batting collapsed.
However, Venkatesh Prasad was the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts in the third innings, snapping six wickets (6-33), including a fantastic spell of 5-0 (five wickets for no runs) as India restricted Pakistan to 286, needing 271 to win the match, which they subsequently lost by a mere 12 runs.
#4 5-76 and Lord’s Honours Boards, 1996
The match is remembered for a number of things: Sourav Ganguly’s debut ton, Rahul Dravid’s equally impressive 95, and Dickie Bird’s last match as an umpire, among others. However, few remember a young Indian pacer getting his name embossed on the honourary Lord’s boards, claiming five wickets in the first innings.
After Srinath and Ganguly had dented the top order, Venkatesh Prasad came in and swooped the lower half of the batting line-up, ending with figures of 5-76. He took a further two wickets, in the next innings, but the match ended in a draw.
#3 5-27, India vs Pakistan, 1999 World Cup
The India-Pakistan clash at the ‘99 World Cup was like no other; armies from either nation had clashed at Kargil and there was palpable tension between the fans in the stands.
In all this turmoil, India put on 227 runs on the board, with Rahul Dravid top-scoring with 61, and skipper Azharuddin assisting him with 59.
Saeed Anwar began the chase in style, hitting six fours to gain some momentum after Srinath had given India two breakthroughs within the first ten overs.
Srinath might have caused the initial flutters, but Venkatesh Prasad stole the show, finishing with figures of 5-27, including the wicket of Anwar, and beating the life out of the chase.
#2 Five wickets vs Sri Lanka, 2001
The Indian team had the reputation of being poor travellers outside the country, but a win in the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka in 2001 helped undo some of that. 1-0 up in the Test series, the Sri Lankans squandered an opportunity to notch up another win, as the pair of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid chased down the required target of 264 with knocks of 98 and 75 respectively.Before that, the 32-year old Prasad was the pick of the bowlers for India, notching up a five-wicket haul, which was incidentally his last one in Test cricket, as the Indians bundled out the hosts for 221 to set up the chase.
Ganguly was adjudged the man of the match for his knock, and Venkatesh Prasad went unnoticed, again. It turned out be Prasad’s penultimate Test match, as he was sidelined from the team after the third Test.
#1 Clash with Aamer Sohail, India vs Pakistan, 1996
Perhaps, Venkatesh Prasad’s most iconic moment came in the 1996 World Cup in the marquee encounter against Pakistan. The quarter-final made up for a mouth-watering clash, with India stacking up a challenging total of 287 in the first innings.
The chase started off rapidly, with the pair of Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail looting 84 runs off first the first ten overs. Anwar departed soon after, but Sohail was in his elements. He slashed a ball from Venkatesh Prasad to the fence in the 15th over, and pointed in the direction of the shot while gesturing at the bowler.
Sohail tried to repeat the same off the next delivery, but the ball slipped below his bat and ended up crashing onto the stumps. This time, Venkatesh Prasad showed Sohail the way to the pavilion, much to the delight of the fans.
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