Brian Lara was a part of the MCC XI in the exhibition match against the Rest of the World XI which was played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, London last week.
Quite a few greats of the game were in both the teams. In Lara’s team, there was Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Brett Lee etc. while, in the opposition team, there was Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Kevin Pietersen and a few more.
So, it was a star studded encounter. The stands were completely filled as if it was an international match.
Batting first on a slow deck, Rest of the World XI posted a score of 293 on the board which was challenging.
But, MCC got such a good start from the openers that the task became too easy for them.
MCC’s opening pair got separated after a century stand when Sachin got bowled off the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan trying to play a late cut on a delivery which was marginally too full for that shot.
After Sachin’s departure, Lara came on to the crease and he started playing his trademark shots on the off side. He cut Tino Best for a delightful boundary through point which got the spectators on their feet.
But, Lara, like Tendulkar, also threw away his good start as at the score of 23; he guided a short of a length delivery from Paul Collingwood in Adam Gilchrist’s hands. He was trying to collect a four through the point region again, but, the ball was a little quicker than his expectation and he couldn’t put it away.
The Caribbean legend, however, got a standing ovation from the crowd when he was returning back to the dressing room. Lara acknowledged the cheers by raising his bat towards the fans.
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