Can anyone break Lara's record of 400 runs in an innings after 16 years?

Cricket is all about stats and numbers. Every cricketer in the world is assessed based on his/her career statistics. There were quite a few players that were an absolute pleasure to watch during their time and that retired after setting or breaking many records in this game. There are some records which are easier to break than some, which are very hard or almost impossible to break. In the last two decades, many batting records were made by some tremendous batsmen like - Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, etc. 

In the oldest format of the game, the most known record is Brian Lara’s 400 runs in an innings. On 12th April 2004, Lara made the first-ever quadruple century in International cricket. Many legendary players came and scored a triple century in Test cricket but no one has scored a quadruple century except Brian Lara. It is almost impossible to break Lara’s record of 400 runs for any current player. A few years ago, most of the team's intent was to save the Test match but now every team wants to win the match. To break Lara’s record of quadruple century, a player should bat with good strike rate from the very first ball of the Test match and dominate the opposition with his/her batting for two days. Presently, even though it seems difficult,  there are a few players in Test cricket who can shatter Lara’s record of the quadruple century. 

Let’s have a look at players who can make a quadruple century.  

#1.Rohit Sharma: When we talk about the most runs in an innings, the first name comes into everyone’s mind is that of Rohit Sharma. The Hitman of Indian Cricket, who already has three double centuries (most by any player) in ODI cricket is the biggest challenger who can score 400 runs in an innings. Most of the cricket fanatic believes that Rohit can easily score a quadruple century in Test cricket.

In Test cricket, Rohit has played only 6 matches as an opener. In these matches, Rohit had made a huge impact by scoring two big hundreds in his first Test series as an opening batsman. Rohit is an attacking opening batsman who has good batting technique and also skills to play big shots on any side of the ground. On his day, Rohit can break the record of 400 runs in an innings.

#2.David Warner: The 33-year-old Aussie opener David Warner can also score a quadruple century in Test cricket. Many people believe that Warner's attitude is the same as Virender Sehwag. Not just that, in Test cricket, Warner’s style of playing is almost Sehwag too. A few months ago, he had scored an unbeaten 335 against Pakistan. In that match, everyone was expecting Warner to score a quadruple century but Australia declared the innings. Warner is an attacking batsman. Currently, he is the only batsman who plays every format of the game with attacking intent. Many cricket pundits believe that someday he will score a quadruple century in Test cricket.

#3.Virat Kohli: The current captain of Indian team, Virat Kohli is also on the list of players who can break Lara’s record of 400 runs in a Test inning. Till now, Virat has 7 double-centuries in his Test career. There are very few cricketers who play with a good strike rate in Test cricket and Virat Kohli is one of them. He is technically very sound and an attacking batsman.  Coming in at number 4 slightly affects his chances of scoring that famed quadruple ton, however, we can all agree that no other batsman in the world can pace the innings better than King Kohli.

#4.Steven Smith: The modern-day Bradman, Steven Smith is also one of the current Test batsmen who can break Lara’s record of 400 runs. He is arguably today’s best Test batsman along with Virat Kohli. The 30-year-old Australian has the ability to score big knocks and accelerate the innings at any time of the match. There may be other batsmen with a better batting technique than Smith’s  but this man’s ability to play with patience and focus is better than anyone else in the world.

#5.Prithvi Shaw: This is a surprising name in the list. He has played only 4 Test matches in which he has played some attacking innings. Shaw who come from the ‘Bombay School of Cricket’ has an aptitude to score big tons with a good strike rate. Brian Lara was full of praises for the young Indian when after Warner’s 335* against Pakistan, the former West Indian Captain had said that Shaw and Rohit can break the record of making 400 runs in an innings.