“Murali—The Hand Of Magic”
Muttiah Muralidharan one of the pioneers of world cricket, has yet another feather added to his cap. This legend created history after taking his 800th test wicket in his 133rd appearance at Gall against India. Perhaps it was the most awaited moment in his creating career when Ojha edged the ball into the slips, caught by Mahela Jayawardene. The stadium echoed with the voices of thousands of cricket lovers marking this historical moment. His parents, brothers, sister, wife were all present to share this auspicious occasion of his career. The moment was far more emphatic because this was Murali’s test finale, which gave him a place in the golden pages of cricketing history.
Murali started his career way back in 1992 and is still contributing towards SriLankan cricket. He has single handedly managed the bowling section of the team. After 18 years of hard work and devotion, this achievement of Murali is purely deserving. This cricketer has unbelievable stats under his belt which includes 133 test caps, 800 test wickets, best bowling figure of 9/51(test), bowling average of 22.72(test), 337 ODI caps, 515 ODI wickets, best bowling figure of 7/30(ODI), economy rate of 3.92(ODI). Besides international cricket he is also an eminent player in Indian Premier League and the forthcoming Champions League. It’s unfortunate to loose such a great bowler for test cricket but Muralidharan feels that he shouldn’t block young players to get chances to show their talent and get a place in the team. He also says that the future of Sri Lankan spin bowling looks bright with some immensely talented youth in the side. Though he has retired from test cricket, he will continue playing One Day International (ODI) and Twenty-Twenty format matches for SriLanka. He also wishes to give his service for his team in the upcoming World Cup if required.
His career has been through many ups and down including controversies and accusations of his bowling actions. Many critics, umpires and cricketing experts have accused Murali for ‘chucking’, many a times. He has also been reviewed and examined by ICC physicians against these charges. Though Murali possess a physical disorder in arm still the council gave him the right to play considering various aspects as per their rules. In spites of all these undisputed arguments Murali concentrated towards his bowling art and proved his metel over the years.
Muttiah Muralidharan remains to be a cricketing legend and an inspiration for young cricket aspirants. We wish that he will continue to contribute his talent towards world cricket and extend his golden era of spin bowling as "Murali—The Hand of Magic".