Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan are considered by most to be the best spinners in cricket history. The Sri Lankan is the highest wicket-taker across all formats, with 1347 wickets. Meanwhile, Warne is second in that list with 1001 dismissals.
The debate has been never-ending as to who is better between the two. West Indies legend Brian Lara, who faced both of them, decided to pass his verdict on the debate.
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Brian Lara on Shane Warne vs Muttiah Muralitharan
Speaking on The Overlap Cricket YouTube show, he labelled Shane Warne as the best, and revealed what made him better than Muralitharan.
“He is the best and you know, I walk out to bat against Murali, and I’m confused. I got that 688 runs in three matches and the first half an hour of Murali, I would be confused. I'd play a sweep shot down to deep backward square for a single. You know, I'd play a sweep shot again. And then all of a sudden, you know, because it's the guys, the other guys didn't read him. He's like, oh, take out the bit. No, no, no. But for Lara, nothing, nothing. Let's move everybody up. And all of a sudden, the pressure came off. But Murali gave me more pressure than Shane,” he said.
“But when I'd walk out to bat against Shane. The ball would be coming off the middle, every ball, and about 2-3 PM, he just produces this magical delivery or spell. That's why I rate him higher, because I think he was mentally stronger. And obviously with his bowling attack and the pitches that he bowled on, which favoured, you know, the McGraths and McDermotts, for him to pick up that amount of wickets, very, very special,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“But when I'd walk out to bat against Shane. The ball would be coming off the middle, every ball, and about 2-3 PM, he just produces this magical delivery or spell. That's why I rate him higher, because I think he was mentally stronger. And obviously with his bowling attack and the pitches that he bowled on, which favoured, you know, the McGraths and McDermotts, for him to pick up that amount of wickets, very, very special,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Muralitharan also has more Test wickets than Warne, and tops the list with 800 dismissals in 133 Tests. Meanwhile, Warne is second with 708 in 145 matches. Warne died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 52, while in Thailand, on March 4, 2022.