Sri Lanka vs India, 1st Test, Final Day, Galle: Sri Lanka wins as Muralitharan departs on a high

It was a perfect ending to the fairytale that was the awe-inspiring career of Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. The spinning engine toiled away, bowling almost 45 overs in its final bowling innings, but got the reward in the form of the wicket of Pragyan Ojha in what was the last wicket to be taken, and the 800^th for Muralitharan. Tillekaratne Dilshan then played a T20 innings of 68 off 47 deliveries with an able support from Tharanga Paranavitana to knock off the 92 runs needed to win the match in a mere 14.1 overs.

“Getting to 800 was not as important as winning the match,” said Muralitharan. “By God’s grace, both things happened which made it the greatest day of my life.”

Muralitharan: a true champion (Photo: AFP)

And to make it even more special, the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa had come to the stadium to see Muralitharan.

It was a hard day’s work for Malinga, Muralitharan and the rest on the field, though, as India had come out in the morning fresh and played sensibly and confidently to revive hopes of a highly unlikely comeback. VVS Laxman was looking in very good touch – his drives and traditional wristy flicks were a joy to watch, but just when he and Ishant Sharma were in the process of building a good partnership, a needless run-out ended the innings of Laxman and that put paid to the hopes of India. Ojha and Ishant Sharma frustrated Sri Lanka, especially Muralitharan, who was trying hard to cause trouble to the batsmen to take wicket number 800, but for a long time the pair resisted Muralitharan.

Many had started to suggest that Muralitharan would not get to the landmark, and drew parallels to the last Test innings of Bradman, in which the great batsmen failed to score a run and his test average remained below 100 – at 99.94 exactly. But Muralitharan, in his 45^th over, with patience and time running out, finally induced an edge off Pragyan Ojha to jump and scream and celebrate. Crackers burst and indeed the whole of Sri Lanka smiled broadly at their favourite son. He was carried off the field on the shoulders of his team-mates, and hugged and congratulated by everyone around him. His family joined in too.

The weather was predicted to be stable and sunny, and for most of the day there were no clouds in the perfect-blue sky. Yet, after the Indian tail wagged and consumed so much time, some clouds appeared to add to the impatience of Sri Lanka. It was only a scare, though, as after Muralitharan took the final wicket and the opening pair of Sri Lanka launched their own attack, it was as if the weather gods sensed the change of the mood of Sri Lanka to not let the clouds matter.

And anyway, Tillakaratne Dilshan humiliated the Indian bowlers in his favourite way to finish the run chase so quickly as not to give a semblance of a chance for rain to intervene. Scoring a belligerent 68 with a strike rate of almost 145, Dilshan with Paranavitana achieved victory with a run rate of 6.77 – true to the dominance of Sri Lanka in this Test.

An extended presentation planned for one-in-a-millennium cricketer Muralitharan took place in the presence of many dignitaries, including his family, important member from his school, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of International Cricket Council (ICC) Mr. Haroon Lorgat. Lasith Malinga was declared the man of the match, and for right reasons, ahead of Muralitharan. But it was the day of Muralitharan.

Tony Greig said cricket lovers from all over the world will miss his smile and his character and for being a most wonderful cricketer. But those who have followed him closely, his absence will provide a huge void. He accepted his token and mementoes with the same old charming smile of his, and thanked everyone associated with his career in a most simple and humble way. Millions cherished it, because it was the last time they saw it on an arena that he owned, and will be most remembered for – Test cricket.