Caricature- Vasim Maner

On 18th April, 1994, Brian Lara broke Garry Sober’s then Test record of 365 for the most number of runs in an innings with a pull off Chris Lewis’ bowling. It was a monumental effort given the physical and emotional strain of the innings. There was some early pressure, West Indies had been reduced to 12 for 2 but Lara fought back by stringing three consecutive 150 plus-run partnerships.
The innings had high romantic value, given the audacity of the shots played and the symbolic change of the flag-bearer of West Indian cricket for the next decade. Yet, looking from the context of the series and the match, Lara’s 375 is not even amongst the twenty highest impact batting performances of his career.
Entering the last Test of the series, the result was deemed inconsequential as West Indies had already won it 3-1. Driven by Lara’s 375, West Indies finished with 593 runs in their first innings losing only five wickets. England, in reply, matched their total thanks to Robin Smith’s 175 and Mike Atherton’s 135. West Indies, in their insignificant second innings, finished with 43 runs for the loss of no wicket. Overall, every wicket in the match was worth almost 82 runs.
Given the basic premise of Impact Index which looks at the significance of an innings within the match context, it is not hard to figure out why Lara’s innings doesn’t stand out as a very high impact innings. Yes, he absorbed pressure at 12 for 2 but post that almost each and every batsman made merry on a perfect batting pitch. Given that the match resulted in a tame draw, Lara’s innings stood out only for the longevity part of it and not for his contribution towards a favorable match or series result.