Lethal Lara
published: Sunday | June 5, 2005

- JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Brian Lara celebrates his century against Pakistan in the second Test at Sabina Park yesterday.

Tony Becca, Contributing Editor

CLASS IS class, and whoever does not believe so should have been at Sabina Park yesterday to see Brian Lara in action on the second day of the second and final Test of the Digicel series between the West Indies and Pakistan.

Batting in a manner that underlined his claim as the greatest batsman of his generation and as one of the very best off all time, the master batsman, in a brilliant display, ticked off his second century in two matches.

It was also his fourth in five matches, the 30th of his illustrious career, and in the process left the West Indies in a wonderful position, a position that would have been even better but for the dismissal of captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the final over of the day.

At stumps on a day dominated by the home team, the West Indies, replying to Pakistan's first innings 374 and after recovering from 59 for two, were 275 for four with Lara on 125 not out.

With Pakistan resuming on 336 for six and losing their four remaining wickets for the addition of only 38 runs in 10.3 overs, the day, thanks to pacer Corey Collymore, who grabbed three wickets for 23 runs in 5.3 overs to finish with the splendid figures of seven for 78 off 27.3 overs, started well for the West Indies.

Then, thanks to Lara, who shared a valuable third-wicket partnership of 146 off 40.3 overs with Ramnaresh Sarwan and a fourth-wicket stand of 70 off 21.3 overs with Chanderpaul, it also ended well.

With such memorable innings as his 277 run out against Australia at Sydney in 1992-93, his world record 375 versus England at the Antigua Recreation Ground in 1994, his match-winning 153 not out against Australia at Kensington Oval in 1999 and his world record 400 not out against England at the ARG in the bag, Lara has played some great innings.

A MASTERPIECE

Yesterday's performance, however, was a masterpiece - another demonstration of his class, a confirmation that class is class, and a reminder that while others can bat, he who was obviously born to bat is the master - a genius with a bat in his hand.

And it had nothing to do with the fact that he scored another Test century to pass Don Bradman's 29 and to move to within two of Steve Waugh's 32 and within four of Sunil Gavaskar's and Sachin Tendulkar's 34.

It had to do with the manner in which he dealt with Danish Kaneria - the Pakistan spin wizard.

With Christopher Gayle gone - caught for 33 at 48 for one in the seventh over by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal off pacer Abdul Razzaq after starting with three boundaries off Naved ul-Hassan off the first three deliveries of the innings and after driving pacer Shabbir Ahmed over long-off for six. Then with Devon Smith gone - bowled off stump by Razzaq for 25 at 59 for two in the 13th over after reeling a few handsome drives, and with Kaneria mesmerising Sarwan and reducing the West Indies No. 3 batsman to guessing, to pushing and hoping, it was left to Lara to take charge - to counter and then destroy the bowler who looked like a magician while bowling to Sarwan.

In a well-calculated attack, the celebrated left-hander, took on Kaneria, middled almost every delivery, stroked the ball confidently on either side of the wicket, swept to the fine-leg boundary, and then, as if to say "enough of you", knocked him out of the attack with two consecutive sixes that landed in the Red Stripe Mound behind the long-on boundary.

After that, after Lara had welcomed the return of Naved with three boundaries in his first over - one to long-on, one to backward point, and one to long-on, Sarwan, who had looked reasonably good at the other end against the other bowlers during Kaneria's marathon spell of 16 consecutive overs, played some lovely strokes, including a flowing extra-cover drive off legspinner Shahid Afridi, before he hooked at pacer Shabbir, skied a catch to Kaneria coming off the long-leg boundary, and went away for 55 at 205 for three.

After batting confidently, the left-handed Chanderpaul, playing carefully with only four deliveries to go, went back to Kaneria and nicked a catch to wicketkeeper Akmal.

For those interested in statistics, Lara's innings has so far accounted for 189 deliveries, and apart from the two off Kaneria that sailed over the boundary, 16 of his glorious strokes went all the way to the boundary - including two majestic front-foot drives to the cover boundary and a sweep that flashed to the square-leg boundary when, with the shadows stretching across the field, captain Inzamam ul-Haq brought back Kaneria, this time from the Southern End.