Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan signed off with his 800th Test wicket in the last ball of his career against India in Galle.
JULY 22, 2010
Shane Warne was once asked who wrote his scripts. That would be a good question to put to his long-time rival as well.
When Muttiah Muralitharan announced his intention to retire from Tests before the first match against India, in Galle, he had 792 wickets. By the end of day three – day two was a complete washout – he had inched to 793, with Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket. But the fourth day brought 12 Indian wickets, five of them going to Murali.
On the final day, with India following on, VVS Laxman shepherded the tail, seeking a draw while Sri Lanka pushed for a win and those two wickets for Murali. When Laxman was run out with one wicket remaining, many feared it wasn’t to be.
But Murali got Pragyan Ojha to nick one to slip – a record 77th time c Jayawardene b Muralitharan appeared on a Test scorecard – and, like Richard Hadlee, finished with a wicket off his final ball in Test cricket.
(ESPN cricinfo)
