Top 10 Karnataka cricketers to have played for India - Part 2

8. Venkatesh Prasad

Venkatesh Prasad of India appeals for LBW against Steve Waugh of Australia

The gentle giant from Karnataka, Venkatesh Prasad is a docile character off the cricket field. But put him on the field and he turns in to a mean fast bowler who is extremely miserly with his runs.

Venkatesh Prasad’s greatest asset was the control he had in his bowling. He maintained a great line and was never afraid to pitch the ball up to the batsmen as he had the ability to seam the ball both ways.

In seamer friendly conditions, Prasad would literally make the batsmen dance to his tune. In his debut series in England, Prasad bowled with great success picking up 15 wickets from the three matches he played. It was here that he forged his famed partnership with Javagal Srinath, and the two of them bowled in tandem over the next four years for India.

Prasad picked his first ten wicket haul in Durban, South Africa. He started off the series in memorable fashion for India by bowling the South African opener Gary Kirsten with a ball that came in, and beat him neck and crop. He picked seventeen wickets in the three match series.

One of Prasad’s best Test matches was against Pakistan at Chennai when he picked 6 for 33 in the second innings and in the course of that spell he went through a patch where he picked five wickets for zero runs.

Overall, Prasad played 33 Test matches and picked up 96 wickets. He also had a successful ODI career playing 161 matches and picking up 196 wickets overall.

A Venkatesh Prasad article can never be complete without the mention of the the 1996 World cup clash with Pakistan. Pakistan had made a good start chasing down India’s 287, with the rampaging Pakistani opener Aamir Sohail in no mood to relent. Sohail smashed a boundary to cover and pointed to the boundary indicating where Prasad should go and pick up the ball. A billion Indian fans celebrated, when in the very next ball, Prasad sent the left-hander’s off stump cartwheeling.

This is the stuff dreams are made out of.