Sachin Tendulkar may be technically flawless but Australian veteran Glenn McGrath feels Brian Lara, with his range of destructive shots, is more dangerous than the Indian maestro.
"I would have to rate him (Lara) the best I bowled to," McGrath said lavishing praise on the West Indian left hander.
"Technically, Tendulkar was more correct but Lara was genuinely more dangerous. He has all the shots and could be very destructive. I always loved the challenge of bowling to him," he was quoted as saying by The Australian.
McGrath said he kept himself at a distance from the West Indian in the early days of their rivalry so as not to let him become too familiar with his bowling.
"I didn't want to have too much to do with him because I did not want him to know me too well. I wanted to keep that a bit of a mystery. I wanted to try and get an edge over him," the veteran said.
McGrath revealed he and Lara have become friendly only in the past three-four years. "Over the past three or four years we have got along better than we have ever before," he added.
On his duels with the Windies skipper, McGrath said so far none of them has managed to dominate the other consistently and the record remains even.
{{/usCountry}}On his duels with the Windies skipper, McGrath said so far none of them has managed to dominate the other consistently and the record remains even.
{{/usCountry}}"I was on top in the early days of our rivalry but he has fought back. I would say it will finish at about 50-50." Lara, on his part, described McGrath as the toughest fast bowler he faced in his long career.
"I am not going to put myself down for him because I have scored pretty well against Australia. Players like myself and Sachin (Tendulkar) want to be dominant but he is one of the bowlers you don't want to face."