Muralitharan spins out number 800

CRICKET:THE ENDING was pure Bollywood and Indian producers were surely lurking behind the stands at Galle with contracts at hand. Muttiah Muralitharan, a spin bowler with a disability who survived years of allegations his bowling action was illegal to become the most successful Test bowler in history, yesterday became the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets.

He did it as everybody hoped he would: the last pair of Indian batsmen at the crease, an agitated crowd checking the turbulent skyline with fear that a tropical downpour might well up from nowhere, and finally the moment of triumph as Mahela Jayawardene tumbled to take the catch at first slip.

Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain, said: “I am never going to go around looking for another Murali, because you are never going to find one. He has played 18 magnificent years of Test cricket. He has been the best bowler who has played the game. He has done so much for the team and for the country.”

Shane Warne, his long-time rival, and whose 708 Test wickets for Australia puts him second in the all-time list, conveyed congratulations on Twitter, saying: “Congrats to Murali on his 800th wicket and a wonderful career. Well done, buddy, awesome.”

Wasim Akram, the Pakistani former fast bowler, said: “Murali has been phenomenal. I don’t think I’ll ever see anyone like him again.”

India’s last pair of Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha held out for 15 overs before Murali, by then in his 45th over, struck, and the Muraliometer on the boundary edge clicked round to the magical 800.

The Murali story has everything: the family biscuit factory burned to the ground in his youth by Sinhalese mobs with his father badly injured as he refused to yield to their threats; the endless hours of practice on his own; Sri Lanka’s first World Cup, 16 wickets against England – his proudest moment of all. Now this.

It is not quite over, of course. Murali’s retirement from one-day cricket ends after the World Cup and, as Sri Lanka are co-hosts, Bollywood will want a sequel.

The run-out of VVS Laxman shortly after lunch left India nine wickets down, only 70 runs ahead, and Murali tantalisingly on 799 wickets.

The weather in Galle remained unpredictable. Once again tropical rain had fallen overnight, but this time not enough to prevent a start on time at 9.45am.

The groundstaff would have been supported by tens of thousands catching it in saucepans if necessary.

Murali opened the bowling after walking out to the middle on a red carpet as fireworks again lit up the sky above the 16th century Dutch fort where spectators sat patiently on the ramparts hoping to see history.

Lasith Malinga initially upstaged Murali. He bowled MS Dhoni with a searing, swinging yorker, much as he had bowled Sachin Tendulkar the previous evening. But in the fourth full over of the day, Murali moved on to 799, winning a straightforward lbw decision from the Australian umpire Daryl Harper as Harbhajan Singh misguidedly tried to sweep a doosra. India were 197 for seven, still 47 runs behind, and beyond the boundary the Muraliometer reached 799.

Before lunch, Abhimanyu Mithun perished against another Malinga yorker. India were eight down with Murali still one wicket away. Many sensed Sangakkara, was doing everything to stage-manage a Murali 800, even granting him the second new ball.

There again, a bowler who had bowled 33 per cent of Sri Lanka’s overs during his Test appearances, and had taken 40 per cent of their wickets, could point to history to prove his right to bowl as long as he wished.