Venkatesh Prasad was Javagal Srinath’s new ball partner in the 1990s. He was a regular in India’s playing XI from his debut in 1996 T0 2001. Prasad was tall and proportionately built and his greatest strength was his ability to swing the ball both ways. He was also a deceptively slow bowler and often used it as his greatest weapon in critical situations.
Prasad is one of those rare breed of Indian fast bowlers who have been more successful in overseas conditions than at home. And the lanky bowler celebrated his 52nd birthday; We take a look at his top bowling mantras:
5/76 1996 v England, Venue: Lord’s
Playing just the second Test match of his career, Prasad produced one of the best bowling spells against the much-awaited England at the iconic Lord’s Stadium in 1996. The right-arm pacer took advantage of the English conditions to break his batting order. First five-wicket haul of his career. He picked up two more wickets in the third innings of the match as it ended in a draw.
6/33 in 1999 vs Pakistan, Venue: Chennai
The focus was on the wizards of spin – Anil Kumble and Saqlain Mushtaq – when India clashed with bitter rivals Pakistan in the two-match Test series. However, contrary to popular opinion, Prasad impressed many with his performance on the tuning track in Chennai. Ace Pakistan cricketers like Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi looked ignorant as Prasad finished the game with the best figure of his career. Despite Prasad’s heroism, India lost the match by 12 runs.
5/60 and 5/93 in 1996 vs South Africa, Venue: Durban
During India’s tour of South Africa in 1996, Prasad joined the elusive list of players who scored ten in a Test match in Durban after finishing with figures of 5/60 and 5/93 in the first and second innings respectively. Took wickets. However, despite Prasad’s valiant efforts, South Africa won the match by 328 runs due to failure of India’s batting order.
5/27 1999 vs Pakistan, Venue: Manchester
Prasad’s best ODI performance came during the 1999 World Cup when India needed him the most. Batting first, India scored just 227 runs for the loss of six wickets in their 50 overs against Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup. However, Prasad upended Pakistan’s star-studded batting line-up with a five-wicket haul for the first time in ODIs to guide India to a 47-run victory.
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