COLOMBO, August 13: Skipper Sachin Tendulkar was fulsome in his praise for Mohammed Azharuddin for his match-saving century in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka today.

``I am really very, very happy for Azhar. It was sad to see him struggle for runs in the West Indies, so it's nice to see him back among the runs. One always feels happy when a colleague does well,'' he told The Indian Express. ``It was a very important century because it helped save India the Test and the series. Azhar has always been a team man and he has nothing to prove after all these years on the international scene.''

The Indian skipper said the loss of Navjot Sidhu and Rahul Dravid quite early in the day was a blow to the Indian aspirations for a win, and once he himself got out, the ``target was stiff.''

Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga said that his team did not field well in the Test with quite a few chances going abegging.

Tendulkar said the muscle pull on his thighs was nothing serious and should be fit in a couple of day's rest, though he said, he is having some problem while stretching out his foot.

Ranatunga's thumb injury, too, is healing with ``native medicines'' and he hopes to recover fully before the one-day international series.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.