On this day in 1994, Brian Lara scripted history as he became the first man on the planet to breach the 500-run mark in first-class cricket. Lara remained not out on 501 against Durham for Warwickshire at Edgbaston, surpassing Hanif Mohammad's 499, which came in Karachi in the 1959 Qaid-e-Azam Trophy semifinal.
Lara reached the milestone off just 427 deliveries, slamming 62 fours and 10 sixes en route the record-breaking innings.
The innings came merely two months after he broke the-then record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, scoring 375 against England.
In the whole season, he scored 2,006 runs at a staggering average of 89.82. He scored seven hundreds in eight first-class innings during the season.
Sachin Tendulkar, another batting great who enjoyed a fierce rivalry with Brian Lara with the bat, took to Twitter to hail the former West Indies cricketer.
He wrote, "Gem of an innings by a gem of a person! @BrianLara."
Brian Lara continues to hold the records for the highest individual score in both, first-class cricket and Test cricket. After Mathew Hayden broke his record in 2003, scoring 380 against Zimbabwe, Lara regained the throne a year later, when he slammed an unbeaten 400 against England.
In a celebrated international career which spanned over 16 years, Lara represented West Indies in 131 Tests and 299 ODIs, surpassing 10,000-run mark in both the formats. He scored 34 centuries in Tests and 19 in ODIs.
