Mendis’ start is better than mine: Muttiah Muralitharan

World’s highest Test wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan has said that his young teammate Ajantha Mendis’ start to his Test career is better than that of his own and Aussie leg-spinner Shane Warne’s had been.
"Ajantha Mendis was once again exceptional and fully deserved his first five-wicket haul in Tests. It took a while for me and Shane Warne to influence a Test match like he is doing already. He has claimed 14 Test wickets and we are only mid-way through his second Test. That is a special start by anyone’s standards," Murali wrote in his column in the Times of India on Saturday.
"All this he has done when the pitch was considered good for batting on the first day. The amount of turn was modest and the pitch was slow, but he was always threatening with his variations and he did not wilt in the face of Virender Sehwag’s positive stroke play," he adds.
Speaking about the delicately poised match, Murali said, the first morning of the third day’s play was very crucial to the outcome of the match.
"The pitch is now starting to take spin and that is why the third morning is going to be crucial. On the last two days it will probably be harder to bat and any lead will be useful. We have no target but we know every run will be vital. We were also disappointed to lose four wickets in the final session of the second day after having established such a strong position," he wrote.