Published 17:28 IST, January 2nd 2020
Brian Lara picks Virat Kohli over Steve Smith to break his elusive 400* record in Tests
West Indian legend Brian Lara has backed Virat Kohli and David Warner to break his 400* record in Test cricket. Lara also commended the Indian team's dominance.
Former West Indies captain Brian Lara's record of 400* in a single Test innings is a benchmark that has eluded every batsman in the game since the great man did it himself in 2004. Lara made the world record score against England in the fourth Test of the series at St. John's, Antigua. In November 2019, Australia's David Warner came close to eclipsing Lara's record when he made 335* against Pakistan.
Brian Lara prefers Virat Kohli over Steve Smith
Brian Lara has been very supportive of modern-day players having the ability to break his record Test score as the West Indian believes that all records are meant to be broken. Lara had earlier backed Warner himself to break his record as he was almost certain that the Australian southpaw will create an opportunity for himself again. Warner made 335* at the Adelaide Oval as the world expected him to eclipse Brian Lara's 400.
Talking to a leading Indian news portal, Lara claimed that batsmen such as Virat Kohli, David Warne and Rohit Sharma are more probable to break his record than Steve Smith. Lara added that batsmen like Warner, Sharma and Kohli bat early in the innings and are aggressive enough in their approach to get to the 400-run mark. Steve Smith, on the other hand, is someone who is not 'attacking enough' by Lara's standards and will probably not be able to reach the distant milestone. Smith comes in to bat at No. 4 and is expected to do so now that Marnus Labuschagne has cemented his spot as Australia's No. 3 batter in the Test team.
Lara then proceeded to credit Virat Kohli and his team for their all-format domination that they have exhibited in recent times. Lara backed the Men in Blue to bring home their fourth World Cup when they go 'Down Under' to Australia in October this year for the T20 World Cup. Lara credited India for being 'the' team which teams have to beat in crucial phases.
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Updated 17:28 IST, January 2nd 2020