Muralitharan reaches 800 Test wicket landmark
By ANIThursday, July 22, 2010
GALLE - Retiring Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on Thursday reached the 800 Test wicket mark with the final delivery of his Test career.
Muralitharan achieved the feat on the final day of the first Test against India at the Galle International Stadium, when he had last man Pragyan Ojha caught at slip by Mahela Jayawardene.
That wicket sparked off wild celebrations in Galle with Muralitharan, holding the ball aloft, being carried off the ground by his Sri Lankan teammates, as fireworks went off, Sky Sports reports.
The 38-year-old had begun his final match on 792 wickets, and his first innings figures of 5-63 made sure that he needed just three wickets in the second innings to reach the magic mark.
He removed Yuvraj Singh with the last ball of the fourth day, and trapped fellow off-spinner Harbhajan Singh lbw early on day five.
Muralitharan will retire from Test cricket after the match. He is expected to continue playing ODIs, including the 2011 World Cup to be staged in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.
Born in Kandy, Muralitharan has also taken 515 wickets in 337 one-day internationals, and a further 13 in Twenty20 internationals.
Top Test wicket-takers: 1. Muralitharan 800, 2. Shane Warne 708, 3. Anil Kumble 619, 4. Glenn McGrath 563, 5. Courtney Walsh 519 (ANI)
