Murli The Bolwling Bradman takes 800 Wickets...

The drama was there till the last ball of the innings...

Both friends and foes were on edge and this time both were praying for the success of this little man from Sirlanka called the great Muralitharan who is the first to take 800 wickets in Test Cricket.

He had to see the heart break of one run out, that of Laxman and only one wicket remained between him and the record and a plumb LBW was not allowed. One kept wondering if any bad luck would not intervene between Murli and his record. The infamous Galle weather was also threatening. Besides Murli was telling the captain regardless of his record get Indians out lest the weather intervene and Srilanka not win.

No. He wanted his last test to be a winning test. So you see a lot of drama was going on all the while and continued till the end. It was one seesaw.

People remembered Bradman how he was out for a duck on his farewell test and his average slumped from 100 to 99.94 while every one prayed nothing like this should happen now. Finally he did have luck. Ojah snicked one at second slip to Jayaverdane. Wow! He made it.

Congratulations Murli. Don't forget 8 wickets is a big ask for a guy playing his last test and against a side that is known for its batting with guys like, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman in the team. On paper India is a formidable foe although not always on the ground. Yet for Murli to make them bite dust is no small achievement. The guy deserves every bit of adulation.

For once it seemed the world had only one team - that of Muttia Muralitharan.

Even his critics and enemies were praying for his success.

Poor shot selection in batting and poor captaincy...

Simple follies cost us the test...
This test will go down as a classic case of opportunities lost. The bowlers set it up for us but the batsmen and the captain let us down.
Why did he let Laxman settle down? When we had India on the mat at 93/5 we let them loose by poor captaincy. When Laxman and Dhoni were new at the crease Shoaib Akhtar should have been brought right back who could have dislodged Laxman who is known to be suspect to the rising delivery, before he got set. The Pakistan captain allowed him to settle down and helped India take an avoidable lead. That was the first turning point.
This is a test not a 20/20 Then our great batsman did not treat Test as a test but a 20/20. Salman Butt was out to a good ball from Zaheer. That is OK but Younus Khan had no business for that flamboyance and gifted his wicket. What was the hurry? Could he not have grafted in. Stay on the crease runs will follow. If the bowler gets you, it is ok but for God's sake don't give your wicket away.
Indian batsmen did not play a non-cricketing shot: Compare that to Indian batting. I did not see any of their batsmen going for un-necessary or risky strokes. They played for the situation. Hats off to Dravid who fell to the best ball of the test by Shoaib. He did not gift it away. Similarly Tendulkar took scores of ball and for ever to make 18 runs and crafted yet another exquisite 56 for himself and an innings to remember for his team. He took his own time 178 minutes and 110 ten balls. He accelerated only in the end. He also has all the strokes in the book but never tried any thing foolish. He was never in a hurry like a true test player.
Learn from mistakes please: If we bat like this don't be surprised we might loose the rest of the tests too. I hope and pray our players do not repeat the mistakes.
Shoaib Akhtar is great: Although the 6 wickets he got and so few runs he gave is yet no reflection of his class Shoaib today is the best fast bowler the world has. He has to be supported by a better fielding. When that happens and our batting clicks even to half potential no team in the world can beat us.