Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad’s famous send-off to Pakistan batsman Aamir Sohail in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal match still remains one of the most talked-about moments in the history of India-Pakistan cricket.


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Chasing 288, Sohail helped Pakistan get off to a brisk start. In the 15th over, he smashed a boundary off the former India fast bowler and sledged Prasad by pointing a finger and the direction in which he hit the ball.


Prasad, during an interaction with R Ashwin on his Youtube show, revealed that were words exchanged between him and Aamir, something that the former Pakistan captain will never accept.


“He came down the track and gave himself a bit of room and hit me for a boundary, he showed his bat and showed his fingers towards the place where he hit the bat” Prasad said.


“He said, he doesn’t accept that but he told me and I could hear him. We are quite close, I had completed my follow-through, he said ‘tujhe fir vahin marunga’ (I am going to hit you there next ball). I just heard him say that, I just used a couple of words and went back. There was a lot going through,” Prasad revealed.


Notably, well-set batsman Sohail regretted challenging Venkatesh instantly as the former India pacer knocked his off-stump off the very next delivery. No fan will ever forget Prasad’s reaction after that – mouthing what can only be imagined as expletives and gesturing Sohail animatedly to get out of the field.


Here’s the video of the incident:



When asked about the send-off, the 50-year-old said, "I would've been penalised for that sort of gesture because that's when the ICC Code of Conduct had come into the picture during the '96 World Cup; so I had to be very careful. And Shepherd was the umpire, so Azhar, Srinath and Sachin, everybody came to my rescue, otherwise, I would've probably been penalised or may be banned."


Overall, Prasad scalped three wickets in his 10 overs and gave away 45 runs. Apart from scalping the wicket of Sohail, Prasad also dismissed Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq to tilt the match in favor of the Indian side.


Talking about the match, batting first, the Indian side scored a competitive 287/8. Navjot Singh Sidhu was the catalyst of the Indian innings and scored a 115-ball 93. In reply, Pakistan could only manage to score 248/9 and lost the match by 39 runs. Sidhu won the Man of the Match award for his scintillating performance with the willow.