From India TV

New Delhi: One of the most respected and the former West Indian cricketer Brain Lara who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of his era turned 45 on Friday, May 2nd. The man with a famous backlift inspired terror and marvel among opposition with recurring frequency throughout the nineties, and typified what is known as the Caribbean flair.

He represented West Indies in 131 Tests and 299 ODIs, and amassed 11953 and 10405 runs respectively. It has always been a pleasure to watch Lara batting and was one of the finest ever to have graced the game.

Let’s take a short glimpse of his life

1)   One wish that could not be fulfilled 

Lara was the 10th of 11 children in his family. His father Bunty was the bedrock on which his talents grew. He ensured Brian had everything which he needs to be a successful cricketer. He was included in ICC Hall of fame in the year 2012 and Lara then said it is because of his father. Unfortunately, his father was not alive to see him in his career heights as he passed away in 1989 due to heart attack before he could make his Test debut.

2)   Best buddies with Sachin Tendulkar

Legendary Indian cricketer or the “God of Cricket” Sachin Tendulkar is one of Lara’s closest friends. Lara, whose record for most Test runs Tendulkar had broken, then presented him with a quintessentially Trinidadian present — a miniature steel-pan or steel drum native to the island. It was a way of saying thanks for all the entertainment from the entire Caribbean and especially from the people of Trinidad & Tobago. After his test retirement Sachin was invited by Lara to visit West Indies on a vacation.

3)   The master of cricket

He is from the team where legends like Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd used to play. There’s an interesting story about Lara revealed by Adam Gilchrist, who watched him from close quarters in a 2003 match. A fielder at deep midwicket was taken out and placed behind point, in company of another fielder already stationed in the area. Lara quietly murmured, “Mistake”, which was heard by Gilchrist. The next ball he dispatched over deep midwicket for a six.

Gilchrist then challenged him to attack the off-side, and like a master craftsman, he obliged, hitting two back-to-back boundaries between those two fielders. They were still the same old pots for him, and he knew how to find the gaps between them.

4)   The Sydney factor

In 1993, Brian Lara’s during his first visit to Sydney, Australia scored a brilliant 277 which put him into the spotlight of world cricket. It was so special for him that he named his first daughter Sydney in 1996.

5)   Highest individual score of 400 and 501

He made his arrival in cricket special for him when he scored 501 (not out) for Warwickshire in July 1994 to record the highest individual score in first class history. A few months earlier, he had carved a memorable 375 against England, then the highest individual Test score ever.

That record was later overtaken by Australia’s Matthew Hayden in October 2003 against a lowly Zimbabwe in Perth, only to be reclaimed by Lara six months later. Lara scored an unbeaten 400 against England in April 2004 to return to the top of the heap. After this innings, he received a ‘Guard of Honour’ from his teammates.

6)   Most number of triple centuries

Brian Lara holds the record of scoring two triple centuries in his career along with Don Bradman, Chris Gayle, and Virender Sehwag. But one interesting fact to note that his both triple centuries score are more than any of these batsman’s triple century score.

7)   Second most double centuries

Brian Lara holds the record for second most double centuries in test cricket after Sir Don Bradman. He has scored 9 double centuries in test cricket whereas Bradman has scored 12 double centuries.

8)   Most runs in an over in test cricket Brian Lara had scored 28 runs in one over in the over of Robin Pietersen of South Africa. He scored 4,6,6,4,4,4 runs in that over. He now shares the record with Australia’s George Bailey who carted James Anderson in Perth during 2013-14 Ashes encounter.

9)   Fastest 10,000 and 11,000 runs

Brian Lara holds the record for fastest 10,000 runs and 11,000 runs in Test cricket. He shares the record of fastest 10000 runs along with Sachin Tendulkar in 195 innings, whereas he scored 11000 runs in 213 innings.

10) Lara’s ODI record

Lara ended his career with 299 ODIs, one short of

       completing 300, after his team’s ouster in the 2007 World Cup at home. He

had announced prior to his World Cup that he would be bidding ODIs

goodbye after the global event, and was convinced he would play the

landmark 300th match in the World Cup itself. But West Indies failed to

move to the next round, keeping Lara stuck at 299.

For more on this story go to: http://www.indiatvnews.com/sports/cricket/amazing-facts-about-the-legend-brian-lara-who-turned-45-11636.html