Muralitharan signs off with 800th Test wicket

Sri Lankan cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan ended his career in spectacular fashion when his final ball in Test cricket secured him an unprecedented 800th wicket, as his side crushed India in a game that will be remembered as the spinner's swansong.

Playing in his 133rd Test, Muralitharan needed eight wickets in the match to reach the milestone and did so when he wrapped up the Indian second innings as they followed on.

Murali's 800th and final scalp was that of the young Indian bowler Pragyan Ojha, who was caught at slip by Mahela Jayawardene. His demise prompted wild celebrations among the Sri Lankan players and the veteran spinner, who announced his decision to retire last month, was carried from the pitch on the shoulders of his team-mates.

Murali's achievements are extraordinary even in comparison to other greats like Shane Warne. The 38-year-old Sri Lankan took 92 more wickets than Warne in 12 fewer Tests and he claimed 10 wickets in a Test match on 22 occasions, 12 times more than Warne.

However, his 18-year career was dogged by controversy - mostly on account of his action. A deformed elbow left Muralitharan unable to fully straighten his right arm and left him open to allegations of 'chucking'. He was famously no-balled by umpire Darrell Harper in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne in 1995 and again three years later.

In 2004, he was asked to refrain from bowling his doosra over concerns about his action exceeded. But in an effort to prove that he was not cheating he once bowled for the TV cameras while wearing a special cast, and went through his entire repertoire.

His best-ever match figures were 16-220, taken against England in 1998 when he was at the peak of his powers.

He also benefited, paradoxically, from the fact that he was the only world class bowler in the Sri Lankan line-up. While Warne had to fight over opposition batsmen with the likes of Glenn McGrath, it was often down to Murali to see off the opposition.

After his team mates had wrapped up victory against India he thanked his team mates, family and supporters throughout his career.

He also touched on the vexed subject of his action and said: "Arjuna Ranatunga and de Silva and all those guys helped me through the tough times in 1995. The umpires make their judgments through naked eye, so nothing against them... I have no grudge against them and happy to have made it through the tough times. I always thought if something goes wrong I can bowl leg spin and continue playing cricket!"

And although he has now retired from Tests he announced that he would still be available for other forms of cricket, and hinted that he would miss the camaraderie of the game. "I made a lot of friends through cricket and sometimes my team-mates said I talk too much with opposition players," he said. ·