Sri Lanka v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, 1st Test at Galle, Day Five: Plays of the day
Sri Lanka took a lot more time that one thought they should have, but in the end, they went on to beat India in the first Test match at Galle. Here are the plays of the day, which arguably, belonged to Muthiah Muralitharan.
Finally for Murali
Ever since Muralitharan had announced at the start of this Test match that this will be the last time he went out to play a Test match, there has been enough buzz about his getting to his 800-wicket landmark. Muralitharan was on 792 wickets at the start of the game, and when he scalped those five wickets in the first innings, he was only three short of the tally.
He got rid of one wicket on the fourth day of the Test match, which left him with two wickets and everyone was counting down. Harbhajan Singh came and went and afforded Muralitharan his 799th wicket, and with three more Indian wickets remaining, it seemed like a mere formality.
However, first it was http://www.senore.com/Cricket/VVS-Laxman-c2772 and Abhimanyu Mithun who thwarted the maestro, and then Ishant Sharma joined Laxman to see Murali off. Laxman was the ninth wicket to fall and he was run-out, and it had been 51 overs since Murali had taken his last wicket.
Finally, off the fourth ball of his 44th over, it was an edge of Pragyan Ojha’s bat that found the safe hands of Mahela Jayawardene and the number 800 was his. There were the customary fireworks and Muralitharan was carried off the field by his team-mates. A champion hd bowed out in theatrical style.
The new wall?
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ishant-Sharma-c64566, who exhibited the technique, temperament and most importantly, a straight bat to ward off the Lankan bowlers for 106 balls. He remained unbeaten till the very end, and had scored a 31, his highest ever Test match score.
Even in the first innings, he had been the not-out batsman for India.
Another ten-wicket win at Galle
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 has won only once before by 10 wickets in Test matches against India, and that game was also played in Galle. On that occasion, Sri Lanka’s target was six runs and Sanath Jayasuriya had got all those runs. Rahul Dravid was the only batsman who had managed to get to a 50 in that game for India.
Incidentally, this was also Sri Lanka’s seventh 10-wicket win in Test match cricket.
Square-leg ‘fielder’ gets hit:
It was one of those few days when YouTube would have been one of the favourite websites for those following cricket. Fans would be lining up to get a better view of Muralitharan’s 800th wicket in Test match cricket, but this is the one video that could get more views over the period of time. Chasing 95 for a win, Tillakaratne Dilshan began in an aggressive fashion, with an obvious intent to finish off the game before the rains came down.
One of the shots that he played off Sharma was his favourite, pull, and it connected with the meat of his bat. It was travelling to the square-leg boundary for a four, before it was intercepted, but not by an Indian fielder. The ball had travelled so quickly, that the square-leg umpire, Daryl Harper had had no time to react and get out of harm’s way.
The red, hard cherry hit him smack on his chest and while the boundary was saved, the umpire was almost down for the count, providing an instant YouTube-worthy moment. He recovered quickly enough, but one can be rest assured that there will be at least one blue-black bruise at Galle today.
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