Brian Lara is one of the greatest players to have ever played the game and today (May 2, 2020), celebrates his 51st birthday. So on this day, ICC put on a bracket challenge and asked fans around the world to vote for the West Indian’s greatest Test knock. Unsurprising, cricket fans around the world picked Lara’s 400 not out against England at the Antigua Recreation Ground in 2004 as his best performance in the longest format, which is also the highest individual score in Test cricket. Brian Lara Birthday Special: 400 vs England and Other Spectacular Knocks by the Legendary Caribbean Batsman.

In the list, ICC had included several great innings by the West Indian such as his 375 vs England in 1995, 153* vs Australia in 1999 and 202 vs South Africa in 2003 but fans couldn’t forget his record-breaking knock against England in Antigua and voted it as his best Test inning. Happy Birthday Brian Lara: Lesser-Known Facts About the Cricketing Genius From West Indies.

The Best Test Knock by Brian Lara

A decade ago, at the same ground and against the same opposition, Lara had scored his highest individual Test score and this time looked in a mood to replicate a similar feat. After winning the toss, Lara elected to bat first and came onto the field after the hosts lost Darren Ganga early. The left-handed batsman looked in great knick and stitched up a 230-run partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan.

Even after losing his partner, Lara looked set to play a marathon inning and after playing for close to 13 hours, he became the first batsman to score 400 runs in a single Test inning. He surpassed his previous best score of 375 and created cricketing history, which till this day remains untouched. This innings helped the Caribbean side to put on a total of 751/5 in the first innings.

The hosts managed to bundle out England for 285, the first time around but Michael Vaughan’s 140 in the visitor's second innings, ended the game in a tie. The final outcome of the match may have not been what Lara hoped, but he had etched his name in cricketing folklore.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 02, 2020 09:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).