Former India seamer and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad wants Team India's batsmen to give their bowlers enough runs to bowl at during the forthcoming Test tour to South Africa. "I have always felt that the batsmen need to put up big scores for the bowlers to bowl freely. You need to post over-300 scores and that's what we should be looking at. The bowlers will then have the freedom to express themselves," Prasad, the national junior selection committee chief, told mid-day yesterday. Virat Kohli's Indians play the opening Test in Cape Town from January 5. The Bangalore-based former swing bowler was part of Sachin Tendulkar's team to South Africa in 1996-97 when SA won the series 2-0. Prasad claimed 10 wickets in the opening Test at Durban (5-60 and 5-93) but India lost by huge margin of 328 runs.

India's captain Virat Kohli celebrates his double century against Sri Lanka in Nagpur recently. Pic/PTI