"I have always maintained that he (Tendulkar) at his best was fractionally ahead of Brian Lara at his best, and they are the best two batsmen I have played against," Ponting says in his ‘captain’s Diary 2008’.
"As I write this, he has scored 14 international hundreds against Australia during his career (seven in Tests, seven in ODIs), and I have been on the field for many of them, so I have plenty of opportunities to guage just how magnificent and complete a batsman he is," he said giving a special words to the batsmen from Mumbai.
"We have tried a wide variety of schemes and strategies, but he’s usually had the answer to all of them…"
"For me, right at the start of my Test career, it was a great experience just to see such a champion player going about his business in his conditions," he said.
He had praises for the champion leg spinner also "Kumble made his Test debut back in 1990, and his feat in reaching this milestone is a tribute to his remarkable durability. "The ability to succeed at the highest level for an extended period is something I admire greatly, because it requires a certain toughness, mental strength and a persistent streak that few sportspersons possess. You need to be smart, too."
"…He might be getting even better with age. It’s an exclusive group, the 500-plus Test wickets club, and the Indian captain fully deserves to be a member of it," Ponting said.
He mention about Ishant sharma also
"Tall, lean, ultra-impressive Ishant Sharma, playing just his fourth Test and still eight-and-a half months short of his 20th birthday, had bowled an awesome spell to me: Seven overs when he was fast, aggressive and relentless, where I never felt as if I was truly ‘in’," he said.