Lara tips Ponting to topple Tendulkar

Ricky Ponting can surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record, according to Brian Lara

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Brian Lara may have seen his Test run-scoring record surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar last week, but he believes the India batsman is only keeping it warm for Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

Tendulkar claimed the highly-regarded record on Friday en route to 88 in the first innings as India paved the way for a comprehensive 320-run win over Australia in the second Test.

The 35-year-old had stretched the new mark to 12,037 runs by the end of the match in Mohali.

And while Lara said he was proud to relinquish the record to a player of Tendulkar’s calibre, he believes it is only a matter of time before Ponting makes it is his own.

“There is no better individual or batsman in the world that could go past you than Sachin Tendulkar,” Lara said.

“He has been a great for so many years and is someone who is deserving of such a record. So I just want to wish him the best.

“Ricky Ponting is someone who is in line to hold such a record as well. I think it is the one that most batsmen would cherish.

“I would think that (Ponting) still has 30 or 40 Tests matches left under his belt and he has already gone past 10,000 runs, so it is one of those records that if you play long enough and you score runs consistently then you are capable of doing it.”

Tendulkar accepts the acclaim after overtaking Lara's mark during the second Test in Mohali

Ponting, who turns 34 in December, has scored 10,246 runs in his 121-Test career to leave him 1,791 runs behind Tendulkar, who has played 31 more matches.

The Tasmanian right-hander has shown no signs of slowing, scoring his first Test century on Indian soil during the first Test in Bangalore to edge his average ever closer to the 60 mark.

By contrast, Tendulkar’s international future has come under the spotlight during the past 12 months, highlighted by a forgettable series in Sri Lanka in July when he averaged only 15.

Tendulkar, however, has shown signs of his best form during the current series, most notably in his knock of 88 in the first innings, and Lara admitted it was impossible to begrudge Tendulkar his record.

Lara said: “I was quite happy for him. I mentioned it a couple of years ago when I went past Allan Border’s record that it was a record that I would always cherish. I think it is a testimony to the longevity you have in the game.”

Lara added he always thought his 11,953-run mark would be beaten following his retirement in 2006.

“I thought it was definitely going to be broken,” he said. “I think my impromptu retirement made it more available for other batsmen.

Lara claimed he always knew his record would be broken following his retirement

“As I said, to be considered in the same group as an Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar and now a Sachin Tendulkar and a Ricky Ponting in the future, it is a great feeling, an honourable feeling, and something I am very proud to achieve.”

Former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne joined Lara in praising Tendulkar.

Warne, who saw his record as Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker broken by Muttiah Muralitharan following his retirement 18 months ago, believes Tendulkar deserves the mark for his impeccable attitude on and off the field.

“It’s everything about him,” Warne said. “The way he conducts himself on and off the field, the pressure he’s under with a billion people watching him every time he goes out to bat, the way he handles decisions, he’s pure skill. I just think he has a class about him.”

Warne added: “Bowling to him in the mid-1990s, when I thought I was at my best and I thought a lot of the Australian bowlers were at their best, the way he played quick bowling and spin bowling was just fantastic.

“I just take my hat off to him. It was always a challenge to bowl to him. You knew if you bowled well then you would get him out, if you were lucky. If you didn’t bowl that well he would smash you all over the park.”