Muralitharan: Lara More Difficult than Sachin

Sri Lanka's champion bowler Muttiah Muralitharan said today he found West Indian star Brian Lara a more difficult batsman than India's Sachin Tendulkar.

Left-handed Lara was the only batsman to solve the Muralitharan puzzle during the recent West Indies tour of Sri Lanka, aggregating 688 runs in the three Tests.

Lara's awesome tally made him the second-highest scorer in a three-Test series after Englishman Graham Gooch`s 752 against India in 1990.

"Lara and Tendulkar are the hardest batsmen to bowl against, but the West Indian has troubled me more," said Muralitharan, who requires five more wickets in the third Test against Zimbabwe starting here tomorrow to reach the 400-mark.

The ace off-spinner believed he had the edge over the Indian batting genius.

"Tendulkar is positive and difficult to bowl against, but I have an advantage over him because he is a right-hander."

"I have been working hard against left-handers. Part of the problem is I am turning the ball too much and find it difficult to get leg-before decisions."

Lara started with a brilliant 178 in the opening Test and then cracked 221 and 130 in the third to become only the fifth batsman to score a double-century and century in a Test.

"Lara is a wonderful player," said Muralitharan. "He can play all shots. Most batsmen are restricted in some way and, as a bowler, you can focus on their weak points."

"But he can do anything -- cut, late-cut, drive, sweep and the lofted drive. When you are playing a good bowler, you have to be patient and pick the right ball to hit and Lara does that well."

"We had a really good battle. I won it twice, but he was the winner most of the time," the Sri Lankan said.

SOURCE: AFP.