WC Countdown #2: Why Venky is so hailed

Much of the Indian media's marketing strategy around the 2015 World Cup centers around the 'We won't give it back' flavour, an obvious reference to India's title defense, when arguably one of their greatest moments from World Cup history (besides their title winning moments) has actually been about giving it back.

Venkatesh Prasad, a lanky Indian medium-pace bowler, had spent two summers on the international circuit before the 1996 World Cup but had largely remained a peripheral figure. At the end of that tournament however, he'd become a household name. He didn't set the tournament alight by any stretch of imagination yet became the epicentre of India-Pakistan World Cup discussions for years to come.

Co-hosts of the 1996 tournament Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan rode the wave of massive expectations to get past the group stage. As fate would have it, the traditional rivals were slotted to face each other in the quarter-final in Bangalore. While India had stuttered their way to the knockouts, Pakistan were coming off dominant wins against England and New Zealand. Electing to bat in a big game, India rode on Navjot Sidhu's 93 and Ajay Jadeja's lower-order pyrotechnics to register a solid 287/8. In reply, Pakistan's openers, Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar, blitzed their way to 84 in the opening 10 overs before Javagal Srinath induced a false shot from Anwar to break the stand. Sohail, however, continued to pummel the medium-pacers and raced to his half century. What followed next changed the course of the match and the careers of the individuals involved.

With Aamer Sohail feasting even on the slightest width provided outside the off-stump, Prasad decided to come around the wicket to cramp the left-hander for room. A cat and mouse battle ensued and Sohail stepped up to the challenge. He danced down the track and flat-batted a shortish delivery over the cover fielder with utter disdain. The bout was won but Sohail's competitive edge was not quenched. As Prasad stood motionless mid-pitch, Sohail getured to the bowler, pointing in the direction of the shot, as if to say he would do it again. The intelligent argued, that having made his statement with the bat, Sohail should have refrained from unnecessary chatter. However, the intellectuals grossly underestimated the emotional setting of an India-Pakistan encounter. Despite being visibly rattled, Prasad didn't respond. Not at least, in the immediate aftermath of Sohail's gesturing.

The adrenaline was pumping, the tension in the crowd was palpable. Prasad ran in and pitched the next delivery slightly further up, around the off-stump. In an attempt to double-guess the bowler, Sohail looked to back away and tried to swipe the ball towards mid-wicket. To his dismay, the ball missed the bat and chose instead to connect with the off-stump. The sound of ball hitting timber was engulfed by a roar of approval from over 50,000 Indian fans at the Chinnaswamy. Amidst the hullabaloo, a voice told Sohail exactly where to go using the choicest words. It came from Prasad. The comeback was complete.

Pakistan were still stong at 113/2 but the tide had turned. A charged up Venkatesh Prasad added the wickets of Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam ul-Haq to end with figures of 3/45. Riding on Prasad's burst, an inspired Indian team stifled the run chase and picked up a 39-run win to proceed to the semi-finals. Pakistan were left to lick their wounds and rue Sohail's impudence. In retrospect, this truly epic moment from the World Cup may have set an unfortunate precedent to what is today referred to as the 'send-off' but for India-Pakistan cricket, it was merely another glorious chapter in a richly eventful book. For the 970 million Indians (in 1996) however, it was a classic case of 'What goes around comes around'.