Lara targets double-hundred at home
He is 35, but his hunger for runs has not diminished
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"I really enjoyed this innings, and within the first 15 minutes I thought this could be something big," Lara was quoted in a Reuters report. "My home crowd hasn't seen a double century from me yet, and I hope I could get a really big one tomorrow and do something special. I think it was necessary, I was placed under a lot of pressure coming in this Test match. I know I had to do myself justice and it was the best I've felt coming into a Test match "
Lara back in the side after the sponsorship impasse came to an end, has scored 27 centuries in 113 Tests. Speaking about the record, Lara said, "Garry Sobers made his centuries in fewer Tests [93] than me but it was always an honour to be alongside him. It's a special feeling to go past that mark especially in front of my home crowd. But the records are not important. My aim was to get runs and stay at the crease as long as possible."
Lara and six other players were not considered for selection for the first Test in Guyana owning to a sponsorship dispute, thereby costing Lara his captaincy position. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was named the captain for the entire series. "It's probably the best decision in terms of where West Indies cricket is at the moment," Lara continued. "I love playing for the West Indies, and it doesn't matter to me who the captain is.
"Sometimes you can lean on the captaincy, now I've got to stay in the team by scoring runs that's what I am willing to do but most importantly what I would like to see is a lot of people get that tag away that I am an individual player.... I love situations like this when the team is under a bit of pressure. I relish it and hopefully I can do something for the team."
Lara was playing his first Test since August 2004 and smashed 20 fours during his outstanding knock.
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