Reclaiming his record from Matthew Hayden, Lara scored at St John's Cricket Ground in Antigua against England

April 12 is a special day in the world of cricket because on this day in 2001, West Indies legend Brian Lara did the impossible of scoring 400 runs single-handedly in a Test innings – a record that is intact for 22 years and is unlikely to be broken any time soon given the old-school method of playing with patience and spending days on the crease is no longer seen in the new-gen Test players.

Whatta comeback!

Brian Lara was nearing the end of his career, and therefore, he was not in his usual form as the West Indies lost the first three games of that series versus England and were heading for a whitewash. Scores such as ducks and around 40s in two to three innings were all Lara managed in the first three games.

However, it all changed in the fourth game when the man sent the English fielders on a leather hunt in every direction of the stadium. As the crowd cheered for him in every delivery, Lara’s confidence grew, and his innings became bigger with every ball and shot.

Rare Clip of Brian Lara reaching the milestone of 400* runs in an innings 👇pic.twitter.com/IeItAZDQDT

— Amit (@RohitianAP) February 27, 2026

Lara stayed on the crease for 778 minutes, which is equivalent to nearly 13 hours, and faced 582 balls. Apart from multiple singles, Lara hit the ball for four on 43 occasions, coupled with four sixes. His strike rate in that innings stood at 68.72.

751 on the board

The West Indies' legendary batter helped his team score 751 runs in the first innings, with other important contributions coming from the willow of Chris Gayle, who made 69 runs; 90 from Ramnaresh Sarwan; and Riddley Jacob’s 107 runs.

Although the game did not result in a victory, the Indies drew and prevented England from whitewashing them.

Reclaim a record

Rare Clip of Brian Lara reaching the milestone of 400* runs in an innings 👇pic.twitter.com/IeItAZDQDT

— Amit (@RohitianAP) February 27, 2026

10 years before this innings, Brian Lara set the record for scoring 375 runs in 1994 against England, which was then the highest individual score by a Test batter in international Test cricket. However, Australia’s Mathew Hayden had surpassed Lara’s record of 375 runs by scoring 380 runs against Zimbabwe in October 2013.

Therefore, with the 400, Lara not only surpassed his own old record but also reclaimed it from Hayden.

Apart from his 400, Brian Lara also holds the record for the highest individual score in First Class cricket, with 501 runs for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994. The innings was 427 minutes long and included 62 fours and 10 sixes. Lara retired from all forms of cricket in 2007 at the age of 37.