Published: Aug 05, 2015, 11:42 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 05, 2016, 03:41 PM (IST)
Venkatesh Prasad, born on August 5, 1969, was a medium-pacer, who represented India in 33 Tests and 161 One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Prasad had formed a good opening combination with statemate Javagal Srinath in the 1990s. Post retirement, he moved into coaching and was a part of the unit that helped India lift the ICC World T20 2007. Nishad Pai Vaidya picks 11 facts to know about Prasad.
1. Â The breakthrough season
In the 1993-94 season, Prasad picked up 50 wickets in 13 First-Class matches at an average of 18.60. In List A cricket, he accounted for nine wickets at an average of 22.77 in seven matches. In a Deodhar Trophy match that year, South Zone were defending only 82, but Prasad’s six for 18 helped them bowl North Zone out for 68. His performances got rewarded and he made it into the Indian team for ODI debut against New Zealand.
2.  Shining against Pakistan – I
Prasad invariably rose to the occasion against arch-rivals Pakistan in crunch games. His most memorable bout against them came during the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal at Bangalore. Pakistan had raced away to a brilliant start in the run-chase of 288 and had carted the Indian bowling around. Aamer Sohail was going great guns and had words with Prasad after hitting him for a four. Prasad bounced back by shattering his stumps next ball and gave him a famous send off. This is considered one of the most unforgettable moments in Indo-Pak cricket. Prasad went on to take a total of three wickets as India won the match.
3.  Name on Lord’s honours board
Prasad made his ODI debut in 1994, but had to wait until 1996 to get his Test cap. He won the Test cap at Edgbaston in the first Test against England and made a mark in the second at Lord’s. In a match that marked the arrival of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, Prasad too made a name as he scalped five for 76 in the first innings and got his name up on the honours board. Prasad had dismissed Ronnie Irani to have England at 107 for five before Graham Thorpe and Jack Russell had a partnership. Russell continued to battle with the tail even after Thorpe’s dismissal and had put England at a relatively comfortable 326 for six. Prasad then entered the scene and accounted for the last four wickets to bowl England out for 344.
4.  A 10-for on a seamer’s paradise
In the 1996 Durban Test against South Africa, Prasad recorded his only 10-wicket haul in Test cricket. His spell was instrumental in bowling South Africa out for relatively modest scores in both innings. However, a fragile Indian batting let Prasad down and handed South Africa a win. In the first essay, his spell of five for 60 bowled South Africa out for 235. India were then bundled out for only 100. He then took five for 93 in the second when South Africa scored 259. That effort was in vain as India were embarrassed — chasing 395, they were shot out for 66.
5.  Shining against Pakistan – II
India and Pakistan faced off at Chennai in 1999 in their first Test in almost a decade. The game was in the balance after India had managed a slender 16-run lead. Pakistan were going great guns at 278 for five in the second innings before Prasad worked his magic. Pakistan collapsed to 286 all out, thanks to a spell of five for zero by Prasad. His figures for the innings were six for 33. Unfortunately, that did not translate into a victory as India failed to chase down 271 despite a great hundred from Sachin Tendulkar. Prasad remained unbeaten as India fell short of the target by 13 runs.
6.  Shining against Pakistan – Part III
India and Pakistan faced off at Manchester during the 1999 World Cup when the two countries shared a tense relationship in the wake of the Kargil conflict. Prasad delivered a spell of five for 27 to help India defend 227 easily. Though this lacked the fireworks of the 1996 encounter, it was a big victory considering the political situation at the time. Perhaps it was fitting that Prasad added to his tally in this game after that 1996 face-off.
7. Â Bowling India to an overseas victory
India had acquired the reputation of being poor travellers in the 1990s. Things changed when Ganguly was appointed captain and he made the team believe they could win overseas. Prasad took a five-wicket haul at Kandy in the second innings in 2001 to help bowl out Sri Lanka for 221. India then chased down 264 to record a memorable victory. Unfortunately, he played only one Test after that and was discarded from the Indian setup after a defeat to Kenya at Port Elizabeth in 2001.
8. Â A typical No. 11
Prasad never scored a fifty in representative cricket and his highest score in any form is 37. Those who have watched him bat would be surprised by that ‘big score.’ Prasad averaged under 10 in Tests and ODIs. He did, however, manage five sixes in his international career — the most memorable one coming off Ian Harvey against Australia during an ICC Knockout 2000 game at Nairobi. [Also read: Standout No 11s in cricket history]
9. Â Coaching career
Though Prasad is occasionally seen as a television expert, he is mainly into coaching. He had started off by coaching India under-19 before being appointed bowling coach of the senior side. During his tenure, India had won the ICC World T20 2007 and the tri-series Down Under. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), he has worked with Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is also in charge of Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket.
10. Â Arjuna Award
Prasad was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2001. Interestingly, it came at a time when he was trying to regain his spot in the Indian team. A few days after the announcement, he bowled that critical spell against Sri Lanka to help India win at Kandy.
11. Â A debut on the big screen
In 2014, Prasad made his debut in a Kannada movie Sachin Tendulkar Alla along with Javagal Srinath.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Mumbai-based cricket journalist and one of the youngest to cover the three major cricketing events — ICC World Cup, World T20 and under-19 World Cup. He tweets as @nishad_45)
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