Former Pakistani speedster Shoiab Akhtar is considered as one of the most dangerous bowlers the cricketing world has ever seen. His extreme pace and outstanding ability to bowl consistently at 150 KMPH was indeed a treat to watch. One wouldn’t be wrong in claiming that Akhtar had frightened batsmen from across the teams, just by his fiery fast bowling.
On Wednesday, the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ posted a throwback video of those days when he used to terrify batsmen irrespective of how good they were. Akhtar shared a video of him bowling a speedy delivery to West Indies’ genius Brian Lara which ended up hitting the legendary batsman on his neck.
After the nasty delivery, Lara can be seen falling on the ground and Akhtar along with his team-mates rushing towards the Caribbean batsman to check on him. The incident took place during the Champions Trophy semi-final match in 2004.
“A memory with one of the legends of the game. Best batsman of his era @Brian Lara. I wish I played more against him. #BrianLara #WestIndies #Legend,” tweeted Akhtar.
A memory with one of the legends of the game. Best batsman of his era @BrianLara
I wish i played more against him. #BrianLara #WestIndies #Legend pic.twitter.com/zdOPrU005c— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) April 22, 2020
In that game, Lara was the captain of his team. When the brutal bouncer hit him, he was batting on 30 and had to retire hurt. The Windies ended up winning the contest with ease as they were chasing just 132 runs.
Ramnaresh Sarwan was honoured with the ‘Player of the Match’ award after his unbeaten knock of 56. Earlier, Pakistan batting unit couldn’t add much total as they were outshined by the quality bowling of Wavell Hinds, Corey Collymore, and Ian Bradshaw.
Later, West Indies won the Champions Trophy which was held in England by defeating the hosts in the final. Sarwan became the ‘Player of the Tournament’. He accumulated 166 runs in 4 games with an outstanding average of 83.
