Took 5 wickets for 2 runs…did wonders by becoming a night watchman on debut, that clever cricketer got lost in the darkness of anonymity

New Delhi. The 90s witnessed a new resurgence of spin bowling in the history of Indian cricket. There was a time when after Maninder Singh was out of the team, the Indian spin department was looking for a face who, along with Anil Kumble’s aggressive style and Rajesh Chauhan’s precise length, could destroy the opposition batsmen. At such a time, a slim, calm but extremely clever left arm spinner from Hyderabad, named Venkatapathy Raju, emerged on the horizon of Indian cricket. Today is the birthday of this magical spinner, who forced even the best batsmen of the world to kneel with his flight and turn.

Interesting story of the name ‘Muscles’ and that fearless flight
Venkatapathy Raju’s physical structure was not like that of a traditional fast bowler or a muscular player. He was very thin and of normal height. Seeing his physical structure, South Africa’s dreaded all-rounder Brian McMillan had given him the nickname ‘Muscles’ in a humorous tone. Raju may not have the strength of a muscle man on the field, but the strength he had in his fingers and wrists made even the big giants sweat. Raju’s biggest USP was giving flight to the ball in the air. Under no circumstances did he shy away from tempting the batsman and leaving the ball floating in the air. However, due to this aggressive style, he sometimes conceded runs, but he never gave up his determination to take wickets.

Unique record of ‘Night Watchman’ on debut
Raju started his international career in the Christchurch Test during the New Zealand tour in 1990. Interestingly, in this match he made headlines with his batting before his bowling. India sent him as ‘Night Watchman’ in the first innings. Raju settled on the crease and batted for almost two hours and scored a fighting 31 runs. Ironically, at the other end, senior batsmen kept coming and going, but Raju remained. During this innings, six Indian batsmen were out at the other end. This score of 31 runs from Raju’s bat proved to be the highest score of his entire Test career. He scored a total of 240 runs in 28 test matches of his career at an average of 10.

When Sri Lanka’s fort collapsed by giving just 2 runs in 39 balls
The golden chapter of Venkatapathy Raju’s career was written against Sri Lanka in the Chandigarh Test in 1990. This was only the third test of his career. In this match, Raju bowled such spin that the Sri Lankan batsmen were seen spinning like a wheel. He bowled only 17.5 overs in the first innings, out of which 13 overs were maidens and he took 6 wickets for just 12 runs. The most exciting part of this killer spell was when he showed the way to the pavilion to 5 Sri Lankan batsmen by conceding just 2 runs in just 39 balls. During this period, four Sri Lankan batsmen could not even open their account, while veteran batsmen like Aravinda de Silva and Arjun Ranatunga were bowled. The entire Sri Lankan team was reduced to just 82 runs in the first innings and India won the match by an innings and 8 runs. For his incredible performance, Raju was chosen ‘Man of the Match’ for the first and only time in his career.

‘Sultan’ of home grounds
One truth of Raju’s career was that as dangerous as he was on Indian pitches, his magic could not work that much on foreign pitches. Statistics bear witness to the fact that in the 16 Test matches played in India, he bowled brilliantly and took 71 wickets, whereas in the 12 Test matches played on foreign pitches, he took only 22 wickets. Due to this imbalance, he kept going in and out of the team continuously. Despite this, in the home series against West Indies in the year 1994-95, he once again showed his old colors and broke the back of the Caribbean team by taking 20 wickets in 3 Tests. In the 1999-2000 Ranji season, he played a key role in taking Hyderabad to the finals and took 52 wickets in that season. He has a total of 589 wickets in his name in domestic cricket.

World Cup journey and last salute
Raju took a total of 93 wickets in 28 tests for India. At the same time, his contribution in ODI cricket was also commendable. He played 53 ODI matches for India between 1990 and 1996, in which he took 63 wickets. He played as the main spinner of the Indian team in the 1992 and 1996 World Cups. Another interesting statistic is that his total runs in ODIs (32) were almost half the number of wickets he took. That historic Test match in Kolkata against Australia in 2001 proved to be the last international match of his career, where he took his last wicket in the form of Mark Waugh. Even after saying goodbye to cricket completely in December 2004, Raju did not stay away from the game. He coached many teams and also played the role of selector of the Indian cricket team very well.