The Hindu : Sport : Murali level with Warne’s record

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Monday, Dec 03, 2007
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Murali level with Warne’s record

Ted Corbett

Ian Bell’s fine innings leaves the first Test interestingly poised

— PHOTO: AFP

No. 708: Muttiah Muralitharan gets rid of Ravi Bopara to equal Shane Warne’s tally of Test wickets.

KANDY: Just as it looked like Muttiah Muralitharan’s moment of triumph was about to come to his home town with all the force of a typhoon, just as the bands began to play, the most unseasonal rainstorm in the long history of this cultural capital drowned the last two hours of the second day of the first Test.

The one wicket he needed to beat the record set by Shane Warne had to wait and England had to pause as it sought a first innings lead after three wickets had fallen for 15 runs — two to Murali, and however efficiently the groundstaff put down the tarpaulins, the big climax turned into a passage of bathos, or more to the point, a time to bath rather than bathe in glory.

It was clear when Jayawardene called him on for the second over of the day from the northern end that the plan was to use the tension surrounding his attack on the magic figure of 709 to unsettle England, 49 for one in reply to Sri Lanka’s 188.

Of course, it was the ideal occasion for Murali to show off his tricks — round the wicket, over the wicket; slower ball, quicker ball, off-break, doosra, top-spinner, the whole nine miles. But it was still not until the 35th over of the innings that he snatched his first result and then he owed it more to an error by umpire Aleem Dar than to Michael Vaughan propping forward, as he had repeatedly, to send the ball off his pad to short-leg.

Vaughan is not exactly a walker but he leaves quickly enough if he was out; but this time, there was a count of five before he trudged off. You could see the anger in his face when he removed his helmet and heard the boos. He was victim No. 705 and the crowd of Murali’s friends, relatives, former teammates and even his first coach were annoyed that anyone should cast a doubt over Murali’s day.

Key strikes

Ian Bell, clearly heading for a century that might be further evidence he has lost his reputation for throwing away a good start, batted on in that relentless way of his while Kevin Pietersen alternated care in defence with big shots, including a reverse sweep which signified he was happy to take a risk on a good pitch.

But at 132, in the 52nd over, Bell played an almost flippant shot at Murali and was caught at short mid-wicket and 11 overs later Pietersen, having laid the foundations for a sizeable century was patently lbw for 31. You could almost taste the tension; England’s runs dried up — 15 in the next 11 overs — and at 182 Ravi Bopara had a narrow squeak when he looked as if he might have been caught at short-leg and fine-edged the next ball to the ’keeper. That was wicket No. 708, by now the crowd was in ecstasy and Matt Prior’s lazy shot dismissal to the fast medium of Dilhara Fernando was almost a moment to forget.

The drizzle had already begun and it soon turned to heavy rain that formed puddles on the covers and the surrounds. The crowd drifted slowly away, knowing that one more ball might bring a bit of cricket history that will dominate Wisden for a hundred years and that another half a day’s play would surely settle the fate of this important first game.

Murali has been waiting for his place in cricket’s pantheon for five years and he deserves the fireworks, the parade of elephants and dancing girls and the issue of new stamps to commemorate his feat. His drive for 709 wickets has also brought Sri Lanka right back into the game and, please remember, it has never lost a Test at home in December.

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