Former Pakistan cricketer Aamer Sohail recalled the infamous incident involving him and former India fast bowler, Venkatesh Prasad, during the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal match in Bangalore.
This was the first time India and Pakistan clashed in the knockouts of the World Cup which added special attention to their greatest rivalry.
One of the main highlights of the India-Pakistan clash in the 1996 World Cup match was the Aamer Sohail- Venkatesh Prasad's face-off.
In the 15th over of the match, Aamer Sohail signaled to the Indian pacer after hitting a boundary, that he will punish him again. However, in the very next ball, Prasad cleaned up the former Pakistan opener for 55 and gave him an angry send-off.
Recalling the incident in a YouTube interaction on Cricket Life Stories, Aamer Sohail said that there was no argument between the two it was interpreted differently. He added that he wanted to move the bowler from his focus.
"There was no argument. There was nothing said. It was interpreted differently. They have to say something. There was no verbal exchange.
"The situation was such that Javed Miandad, being an extremely smart cricketer, told us how to rile up the bowler when you think he is going to take charge. How to move him away from his focus, or his aims, or whatever he is thinking," Aamer Sohail said in a video uploaded on Cricket Life stories on YouTube.
"Indiranagar ka gunda hoon main," Venkatesh Prasad recalls his face-off with Aamer Sohail
Sohail stated that after Saeed Anwar got out he felt India is coming back into the game so he wanted to unsettle the bowler to see if Pakistan could get the upper hand.
"It was reverse psychology. Saeed and I were going great guns. He got out, it just got bogged down. And I thought India is taking charge. They are coming back into the game. So just to unsettle the bowler... because I thought both the bowlers are starting to bowl well," he said.
Sohail said that with India fielding three spinners and with pitching offering something for spinners his team planned to try and bring the run rate down to between five and four by the 20th over without losing more than two wickets.
"There were so many other things we had to take into account - there were three spinners in India -- one or two others who could hurl their arms. We knew the pitch was going to deteriorate and offer something to the spinners. One over was deducted already, we were chasing 287 in 49 overs.
“So there were so many things we had to take into account. We were trying to bring that required run rate at the end of 20th over between 5 and 4. From there on, if we had lost two wickets, it would be easier for the remainder of batsmen to score runs," he said.
Sohail admitted that he tried to provoke Venkatesh Prasad because Indian bowlers were settling. He added that people made so much of those things that he lost his temper.
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"So, when I realized the bowlers are settling. I just tried to provoke the bowler, nothing was said. I tried to provoke the bowler just to move him away from his dangerous length, and make him lose his focus.
“I just pointed out something, and people thought so many things that I lost my temper, this what happened, and the bowler had a few other things to say,” said Aamer Sohail.
Talking about the dismissal Aamer Sohail admitted that it was a good delivery and further added that there, not a word was exchanged between him and Prasad but people misconstrued it in so many ways.
"It was a good delivery he bowled, I was hoping it would be a short-pitched delivery that I would be able to hit it down the ground, it was not the case.
"But it was blown out of proportion. I was trying to unsettle the bowler because the situation was such. There was no word exchange, just a simple gesture, and people misconstrued in so many ways," he concluded.
