Lara was in cruise control (remember him saying that about Michael Jordan?) and when he is batting like that, the fielding team usually banks on him getting out rather than them getting him out. Another thing happens when Lara takes centre stage. Everything taking place around him becomes of secondary interest like Bangladesh's bowling struggle. That's also why a nearly as good Ramnaresh Sarwan's fifth ton in Tests does not evoke the same excitement as the maestro's knock. But then again, no one would mind playing a supporting hand to Mozart.

"Myself and Devon (Smith) had a good partnership and then Brian came in and started scoring very fast. So I was trying to give him as much strike as possible," said Sarwan who was on 42 when Lara joined him and was still 13 runs shy of his three-figure mark when the skipper reached his century.

So, basically it was a Lara show from the moment he came out to bat to the time when he walked off just before close of play. What stood out in his 169-minute stay at the crease was the simplicity with which he compiled those 119 runs.

"He made everything look so easy. He had so much time for all his shots which was remarkable. He penetrated every possible field," said Tigers captain Habibul Bashar at the end of the day.

Lara, carrying the weight of his announcement to relinquish captaincy if Bangladesh not beaten in five days in Jamaica, played like a man possessed. Did he have an extra motivation?

"No, I'm always motivated. The thing is we are playing at home against a side that has lost the majority of their matches. We should be able to show our height over teams like Bangladesh. With five full days and with the team that we have presently, we should overcome Bangladesh and it would be an aberration if were otherwise. That was just a statement hoping that the guys would get motivation, not just myself," said Lara.

Like all truly great sportsmen, it's the sense of challenge that brings out the best of Lara's extraordinary ability and he was determined to give an exhibition.

Just after arriving at the crease, he flayed Mohammad Rafique for a straight six. His drives through cover, late cuts, square drives never left the ground and there was a boundary coming in every other over.

Manjarul Islam, the left-arm spinner, was whacked over long on for a six and on 84. Lara clubbed the same bowler over long off after dancing down the wicket and following through with one hand.

When he was on 99, an announcement was made on the PA system telling fans not to rush on to the ground. The whole of Sabina Park was chanting, screaming 'Lara', 'Lara'. As he nudged Mohammad Rafique to mid-wicket to get his hundred, the 35-year-old had in his 108th Test equalled Sir Gary Sobers' West Indies high of 26 hundreds.

"It's great to join Sir Gary. It's a situation where the older you get, the more Test matches you play and more records are going to be in front of you. But it's a great honour to be among guys like Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Gary. I'm just happy to have longevity in my career. It's been a great ride so far. Hopefully it has a lot more good days to come," said Lara.

His exit was as graceful as always. He didn't wait for the umpire's signal after Rafique got him on his 147th ball in the middle. He made room to cut but the ball took the edge and Khaled Mashud completed the catch.

"Everybody has a job to do out there. And the umpires are doing their job. If a guy feels like waiting out there till the umpire makes his decision, it's entirely up to him. To me it doesn't go down in my book as something bad. We are playing a sport and I chose to go a certain way and I'm committed to that.

'I have been in situations before where I did not feel the ball on my bat and the opposition went up. I have to feel the ball on my bat. I'm not going to say that everytime I hear a nick I'm gonna walk. You got to know you are out. As long as I know I'm hundred percent out, I'm going to head back to the dressing room."

It's about time they started calling him King.