Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene on Monday hailed Muttiah Muralitharan as the greatest-ever spinner after another match-winning performance in the first Test against South Africa. "There is no doubt in my mind that Murali is the greatest spinner ever," said Jayawardene, who was named man of the match for the fourth highest Test score of 374 in Sri Lanka's innings.
"These were difficult conditions to bowl in. It was very hot and humid and the wicket was getting slower, slower and slower as the match progressed.
"Yet Murali bowled 64 overs in the second innings and just kept probing the batsmen. He is so hungry for wickets.
"I am certain he would have been named man of the match if I had not got that big score or the record stand." Jayawardene said his team gained enormously from the recent tour of England where they fought back to draw the Test series 1-1 and blanked the hosts 5-0 in the one-dayers.
"That tour gave us the confidence to play better," he said. "We had to make sure we did not go off the boil and needed to stick to our game plan. South African captain Ashwell Prince, standing in for the injured Graeme Smith, said the low score in the first innings let his team down. "We had our backs against the wall from the first day," said Prince, the first black cricketer to lead his country.