#ThisDayThatYear: Brian Lara breaks the world record with quadruple century
On April 12, West Indian legend Brian Lara became the only player in the history of Test cricket to touch the 400-run mark. Nearly 10 years after he registered the highest individual Test score (375), Lara topped his own record at the very same venue. Let us unravel how a monstrous Lara rattled the England bowling attack with his masterclass at St John's.
West Indies racked up a colossal 751 in first innings
Batting first on a flat deck, the West Indies batsmen were all over the bowlers. Despite losing Darren Ganga early on, Chris Gayle played in grand fashion to put West Indies in the driving seat. Lara put on 65 for the second wicket with Gayle, followed by a mammoth 232 with Ramnaresh Sarwan. Later, Lara and Ridley Jacobs propelled West Indies to 751.
Lara was facing a lean patch ahead of fourth Test
Before this ground-breaking knock, Lara was haunted by a string of low scores, first against South Africa and then against England in home series. With scores of 23, 0, 0, 8, 36 and 33, the left-hander was struggling in front of a ferocious bowling attack of England. In fact, Lara looked set on the crease only after getting to three figures.
Lara repeated history, this time by hammering 400
Following his century, Lara did not look back. History repeated itself when he smashed a triple ton at the very same venue where he rattled England a decade ago. The West Indian skipper overtook Matthew Hayden's tally (380 vs ZIM) to register the highest ever individual score in Test cricket. Lara reached the esoteric 400 with his trademark sweep shot.
England managed to draw the Test
England were down and out in the first innings, having posted 285 with the help of Andrew Flintoff's unbeaten ton (102*). West Indies enforced a follow-on with two days to go. However, Michael Vaughan (140) and Marcus Trescothick (88) saved England from a harrowing defeat. Later, Nasser Hussain cordoned off the West Indian bowling attack in order to seal a draw.
Lara's records still remain intact
Lara remains the record holder for the highest score in both Test and First-class cricket (400* vs ENG in 2004 and 501* vs Durham in 1994). Overall, he finished his Test career as West Indies' highest run-scorer, tallying 11,953 runs in 131 matches at 52.88.
