Lara equals Gavaskar's record with 34th ton
Nov 22, 2006 - 2:31:32 AM
, Reviewed by: Priya Saxena
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Lara, who has also played 282 one-day internationals, had made his Test debut against Pakistan in Lahore in 1990.
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By Indo Asian News Service,
[RxPG] Multan, Nov 21 (IANS) West Indies captain Brian Lara Tuesday slammed a breezy century, his 34th, in the second Test against Pakistan to come in equal terms with Indian great Sunil Gavaskar and he is now just one ton behind Sachin Tendulkar.
This was the left-handed batsman's fourth century against Pakistan, and at close the master batsman was unbeaten on 196 - just four short of his ninth double century that includes one triple century and the world-record 400 not out.
It was due to Lara's century 230-ball knock that West Indies, trailing 0-1 in the three-Test series, finished the third day of the five-day match at 509 for five. Thanks to Lara, the West Indies now lead by 152 runs. Pakistan had scored 357 in their first innings.
Playing the 230th innings of his 120th Test, the 37-year-old Trinidadian has now amassed 11,884 runs at 53.29, studded with 48 half-centuries. After playing for so long, Lara has failed to score in just 16 innings. He has so far smashed 1,549 boundaries and 88 sixes.
Lara, who had also scored a century in the first-Test defeat in Lahore, was belligerent at the Multan Cricket Stadium, over 12 km outside this dusty city. A few minutes before the lunch interval, he smashed leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to smithereens by caring one of his overs for 26 runs. He hoisted three sixes and two boundaries and failed to score off one ball.
This helped him complete the century before lunch to become only the fifth batsman in 129-year Test history to achieve the feat - a century before lunch.
Before Lara, Australians Victor Trumper (in 1902), C.G. Macartney (1926) and Sir Donald Bradman (1930) and Pakistani Majid Khan (1976) had scored centuries before lunch.
Apart from his own knock, Lara joined hands with Bravo to raise 200 invaluable runs for the fifth wicket that erased the previous West Indies' record of 185 between Collie Smith and Everton Weekes in Bridgetown in 1957-58. Kaneria broke the partnership when Bravo gave a catch to Younis Khan.
Lara, who has also played 282 one-day internationals, had made his Test debut against Pakistan in Lahore in 1990.
Since then he had broken the world's highest innings record twice. First he broke Sir Gary Sobers' record of 365 not out by scoring 375. He then reclaimed the record by scoring an unbeaten 400 against England in 2003-04 after Australia's Matthew Hayden had scored 380 to wrest the old record.
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