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Sri Lanka's spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan claimed a record 800 Test wickets as India were bundled out for 338 in their second innings on Day 5 of the first Test in Galle, Sri Lanka on Thursday.
The 38-year-old Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in tests and one-day internationals, dismissed Pragyan Ojha to reach the milestone in his final Test match appearance.
In his final Test, Muralitharan picked up his 67th five-wicket haul and forced India to follow-on after they had resumed their first innings at 140/3 on Wednesday.
Having dismissed Tendulkar in the first innings on the third day, Muralitharan added the wickets of Yuvraj (52), skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (33) and tailenders Pragyan Ojha and Abhimanyu Mithun.
Galle has been Muralitharan's favorite hunting ground, where he has taken 103 wickets in 14 matches with an average of 18.
Muralitharan made his Test debut in 1992 against Australia in Colombo and has since taken 22, 10-wicket hauls. He has taken five wickets in a Test innings on a record 67 occasions.
Muralitharan's 18-year career was marred by controversy due to his bent-arm action -- the result of an elbow deformity since birth -- which helped him impart considerable turn and bounce even on the most placid wickets.
The unusual action sparked uproar in the cricket world, especially in Australia where umpires no-balled him for throwing and former prime minister John Howard once called him a "chucker".
Muralitharan's action first came under the microscope when Australian umpire Darrel Hair called him for throwing during Sri Lanka's tour Down Under in 1995-96.
He was called again during a later tour of Australia in 1998-99 but was subsequently cleared after further tests.
But the International Cricket Council, which carried out bio-mechanical tests on the bowler, cleared him of a suspect action.
Affectionately known as Murali, the off-spinner is the most successful bowler in history with record hauls in both Test (800) and one-day (515) cricket.
The 38-year-old Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in tests and one-day internationals, dismissed Pragyan Ojha to reach the milestone in his final Test match appearance.
In his final Test, Muralitharan picked up his 67th five-wicket haul and forced India to follow-on after they had resumed their first innings at 140/3 on Wednesday.
Having dismissed Tendulkar in the first innings on the third day, Muralitharan added the wickets of Yuvraj (52), skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (33) and tailenders Pragyan Ojha and Abhimanyu Mithun.
Galle has been Muralitharan's favorite hunting ground, where he has taken 103 wickets in 14 matches with an average of 18.
Muralitharan made his Test debut in 1992 against Australia in Colombo and has since taken 22, 10-wicket hauls. He has taken five wickets in a Test innings on a record 67 occasions.
Muralitharan's 18-year career was marred by controversy due to his bent-arm action -- the result of an elbow deformity since birth -- which helped him impart considerable turn and bounce even on the most placid wickets.
The unusual action sparked uproar in the cricket world, especially in Australia where umpires no-balled him for throwing and former prime minister John Howard once called him a "chucker".
Muralitharan's action first came under the microscope when Australian umpire Darrel Hair called him for throwing during Sri Lanka's tour Down Under in 1995-96.
He was called again during a later tour of Australia in 1998-99 but was subsequently cleared after further tests.
But the International Cricket Council, which carried out bio-mechanical tests on the bowler, cleared him of a suspect action.
Affectionately known as Murali, the off-spinner is the most successful bowler in history with record hauls in both Test (800) and one-day (515) cricket.
