File photo of former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne in action
New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara have come in for heaps of praise from former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne. Warne said that the two were the 'best two batsmen' he played with or against during his illustrious career.
"These two guys were clearly and easily the best two batsmen I played with or against and the best of my generation too (1989-2013) Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. Did you like watching the three of us play and do battle out on the field?" wrote Warne along with the picture which he posted on his Instagram account on Tuesday.
Tendulkar made his debut against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 as a 16-year-old. He went on to play 200 Tests for India, scoring 100 centuries across Tests and ODIs. In 463 ODIs, Tendulkar scored 18,426 runs including 49 tons and in Tests, he has 15,921 runs to his name, including 51 centuries.
Lara, on the other hand, remains the only batsman in world cricket to score 400 runs in an innings in Test cricket. The left-handed batsman played 131 Tests and 299 ODIs for West Indies, scoring 11,953 and 10,405 runs respectively.
Warne, one of the greatest spinners of all time, scalped 708 wickets in 145 Tests for Australia. In 194 ODIs, he picked 293 wickets.
(From an IANS feed with minor edits)