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Muralitharan feat sets up Sri Lanka victory

Muttiah Muralitharan captured his 800th wicket with the final ball of his test career as Sri Lanka cruised to a 10-wiclet victory over India after finally breaking the tourists’ stubborn resistance.

Requiring just 95 runs for victory, Sri Lanka reached their victory target shortly after the tea interval on the final day with Tillakaratne Dilshan racing to 68 not out and Tharanga Paranavitana unbeaten on 23.

However, the final stages of the weather-interrupted test which lost a whole day to rain belonged to Muralitharan, who ended India’s second innings in typical flamboyant style.

The 38-year-old leading wicket-taker in tests and one-day internationals dismissed Pragyan Ojha to reach the milestone in a fitting finale to a brilliant career with his family cheering him on from the Galle stadium stands.

Ojha, acrobatically caught by Mahela Jayawardene at first slip, was the final Indian wicket to fall in the second innings as the visitors made 338, with his dismissal setting off wild celebrations among Sri Lanka’s players and fans in the stadium .

Muralitharan’s unique feat of becoming the first bowler to reach a mark that is unlikely to ever be matched was greeted by fireworks and his team mates all ran to hug the off-spinner before carrying him shoulder high to the dressing room.

He enjoyed a second lap of honour the moment Dilshan blasted a six over the long-on boundary to give Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Earlier, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa flew in by helicopter to watch a few minutes play and spoke to Muralitharan and the rest of the team.

TWO WICKETS

Muralitharan went into the final day of a 133-match test career needing two wickets to retire with 800 victims and it took him just 15 deliveries to trap Harbhajan Singh lbw for his 799^th dismissal.

India, who had resumed on 181-5 and 63 runs short of making the hosts bat again, survived more than an hour of the afternoon session before Muralitharan dismissed Ojha in his 45^th over of the innings.

At lunch, Muralitharan remained frustrated in his effort to secure his milestone wicket as Sri Lanka faced stubborn resistance from India’s Vangipurappu Laxman.

Laxman navigated India through the opening session to remain undefeated on 58 as lunch was taken on 292-8, the batsman doing well to withstand the pace of Lasith Malinga and Muralitharan’s spin to save India from an innings defeat.

When play began, India knew it would be a massive task to avoid defeat and they got off to a terrible start when they lost skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh cheaply within the first 20 minutes.

Dhoni was yorked by the imperious Malinga for four and Harbhajan was trapped by Muralitharan on a sweep shot to a straight ball for eight.

Debutant Abhimanyu Mithun joined Laxman in an eighth-wicket stand of 41 to hold up Sri Lanka’s victory charge before Malinga removed the bowler lbw for 25, to capture his fifth wicket of the innings.

Muralitharan changed ends often in search of the elusive wicket but Laxman and Ishant Sharma kept him waiting until the former was run out for a fighting 69 to leave a pair of tail-enders at the crease.