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Cricket Players'Brian Lara looked at me and said 'Do you want to kill me?'': Shoaib Akhtar recalls face-off against West Indies great
During his career, Shoaib Akhtar had several stand-offs against some of the best and mighty batters of his era, and the former Pakistan quick has revealed one such incident during a match against Brian Lara of West Indies.
Former Pakistan quick Shoaib Akhtar has had memorable battles with some of the greatest batting contemporaries of his time. His duels with Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Virender Sehwag and others have produced some enthralling contests over the years. Akhtar holds the record for the fastest ball ever bowled in international cricket, which was clocked at over 100 miles an hour. Besides bowling, Akhtar's intimidating frame and on-field shenanigans – be it through face-off with batters or certain golden lines caught by the stump mic – have always been a source of entertainment. (Also Read: 'The extra step non-striker is taking might end up destroying your career': Ashwin to bowlers after 'Mankad' law change)
During his career, Akhtar was part of several stand-offs against some of the best and mighty performers of his era, with the former Pakistan revealing one such incident that took place during a match against West Indies. Akhtar recalled that during the coaching tenure of the late Bob Woolmer, he went up to the great Brian Lara to say something but did not expect what happened next.
"Bob Woolmer always used to say to me 'Always concentrate on channel bowling… focus on line and length'. So one day Brian Lara was batting. Now I hadn’t bowled to him in seven years. I told him, 'Brian, it's an honour to bowl to you for the first time in the last 8 years. Lara looked at me and said 'Do you want to kill me?' I said no. So, when I went inside the change room, Woolmer tells me, 'His backlift is very high. Bowl a yorker'. I said, alright. I bowled a yorker at almost 97 miles an hour and Lara effortlessly flicked me for a four," Akhtar told comedian Tanmay Bhatt on his YouTube channel.
During the 2004 Champions Trophy semi-final match between Pakistan and West Indies in England, a scorching bouncer from Akhtar hit Lara on the back of the helmet, and the impact of the blow was so much that the Windies great went down immediately. Lara got into an awkward position and was in pain. Akhtar and the entire Pakistan team went on to check on him and thankfully he was back on his feet.
