Finally Muttiah Muralitharan has reached the landmark which the entire cricketing fraternity has been waiting for since the last few months. The genius off spinner has equaled Shane Warne’s record of 708 wickets in Test Cricket, to stand jointly as the highest wicket taker in Test Cricket’s illustrious history. Murali joined Warne on top of the mountain by picking up 4 crucial wickets on the second day of the first test against England at Kandy.
Before heavy rain hit the ground late afternoon, as is so often with weather at Kandy, the visiting English side was hovering dangerously with Murali making inroads in to their top order. While England had the better of the home side for the entire first day and even the first session of the second morning, a sudden collapse saw them ending the day 2 runs behind the first innings 188 of Sri Lanka with 4 wickets in hand. The day started well with captain Vaughan and Ian Bell resumed play and looked very comfortable. Soon, Vaughan was given caught close-in on a Murali delivery; much to the disbelief of the English skipper. The Bell soon followed after a well made 83, again Murali working his magic.
England reached lunch at 145-3 and looked in a comfortable position as Kevin Pietersen looked in sublime touch. But that was not to last as he fell lbw after a promising knock of 31 to the wily old off spinner. Soon Murali had his record equaling No.708 in the form of Ravi Bopara, as he edged a ball down the leg side into the hands of wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene for eight.
England went back in to the hut after a torrential downpour stopped any further play, but even before that, the English wicket keeper, who struggles more than he plays, was sent back for a duck. The match might seem in the visitors favor, but with Murali on the prowl and with England having to bat last on a deteriorating turf, the pendulum might have just swung back Sri Lanka’s ways. The English side once again showed its tendency to self-destruct as their batting order crumbles under some ‘Murali Magic’.
Source: BBC
