Thanks Brian, It was a Privilege..

Another era goes by, and this one definitely won't be an easy one to let go off. One of the greatest batsman to have ever played this game bids adieu to international cricket. Brian Charles Lara finally seems to have got tired after scoring a mammoth number of runs in both forms of the game - 22340 (before Saturdays' game). But it is just not this figure that he'd be remembered for, but the manner in which he managed to come to it.
Scene 1 Act 1: An unorthodox stance coupled with an incredibly high backlift just when the ball was about to be delivered.
Scene 1 Act 2: Thats an unbelievable cover drive!!

Over the past 17 years, we have seen this happening time and again, the result of which has often been the ball ending up either on the fence or beyond it. The swish-pull off one leg, the scathing square drive, the stupendous backfoot punch - they are never going to be the same again.

Since Sir Donald Bradman, there hasn't been any soul who's hit the big runs so often in this game. A 501, a 400, a 375..errrrrr.. excuse me, we haven't seen ever Sir Don do that!

Lara was a true sporting icon, and I say this because he hasn't been without his share of controversies as every icon generally goes through. But what has been remarkable, is the way he has bounced back.. and done that time and again! He seems to have been a loner in the West Indian side, how often have we seen him perform outstandingly and yet end up in the losing cause. Consider this, he holds the record for the highest number of runs in a match and yet ended up on the losing side - Against Sri Lanka, Lara totalled 351 runs (221 and 130) but Sri Lanka still won by ten wickets.
Cricket's never gonna be the same again. With Lara gone, and Sachin probably considering it as well, it will be a long search before the game finds such icons again. Thanks Brian, it was a privilege for me watching you play and to be born in the same era as you and see you perform the way you did. I'm sure this holds good for most cricket lovers around the world.
Thanks again,
P.S: West Indies were trailing by 228 runs in the first innings when Lara smashed 4,6,6,4,4,4, off Robin Peterson to break the world record for the most runs in an over. Watch it here..Guess what, Lara went on to reach 202 but a second-innings collapse resulted in a 189-run South African victory.