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Muttiah Muralitharan reaches 800 Test wickets landmark

Location: Rest of the World. Source: BBC. Posted on Thu, 22nd Jul 2010.

Muttiah Muralitharan became the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets on the final day of his Test career in Galle.

The Sri Lanka off-spinner, 38, who made his Test debut in 1992, began his final match against India on 792 wickets.

He ousted record Test run-scorer Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday and went on to take 5-63 as India had to follow on.

Team-mate Lasith Malinga took 5-50 but with the last pair together, Murali had last man Pragyan Ojha caught by Mahela Jayawardene at slip to reach his 800.

It left Sri Lanka needing to score 95 to win the match and take a 1-0 lead in the series, but Muralitharan's achievement - reached in his 133rd Test - will overshadow the game.

Needing three wickets in the second innings to reach the magic 800 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.

With paceman Malinga liable to blast the Indian tail away at any time, Murali had to wait for his moment - having lbw and stumping appeals turned down, while seeing VVS Laxman, India's last recognised batsman, run out off his bowling.

Last pair Ojha and Ishant Sharma resisted for 15 overs, but the safe hands of Jayawardene, one of the most reliable slip fielders of the modern era, fell to his left and pouched his 157th Test catch to begin the Sri Lankan celebrations.

Earlier in July, the BBC Sinhala Service revealed Muralitharan's retirement plans - and he later confirmed that this Test in Galle, the first of a three-game series, would be his last.
He is expected to continue to play limited-overs internationals, including next spring's World Cup which will 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.

His unique bent-arm bowling action has meant that he has courted controversy at times during his career.

Some umpires and former players have questioned his action's legality -notably in Australia, where umpires Darrell Hair and Ross Emerson no-balled him for throwing, and former prime minister John Howard once called him a "chucker", although he later apologised.

The mechanics of his bowling action have been investigated by the International Cricket Council, who cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Away from the international game, he has had spells with English counties Kent and Lancashire, and also starred for Chennai Super Kings in the lucrative Indian Premier League - taking 1-17 from his four overs as Chennai won this year's IPL final.

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