I know where this discussion is heading. I say Lara's and Shiv's situation are very different. Lara was on the verge of a world record of a quadruple century while Chanderpaul was on the verge of another test century. Lara's decision to bat was the best one because he would have live with the regrets of not getting to 400 when he had a wonder opportunity. You can't compare someone batting on to get a quadruple century with someone getting a century.