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NEWS India-South Africa-Sri Lanka Tri Series 2006>The genius of Mutiah Muralitharan 07th Aug 2006 22.56 IST By Manish Kumar Sri Lankan off-spin genius Mutiah Muralitharan on Sunday became the first bowler in the history of Test match cricket to claim 400 wickets at home. Murali achieved this milestone at the stroke of tea on the third day in Colombo when he dismissed Herschelle Gibbs .
Murali has now equalled the world record of most consecutive 10-wicket match hauls. Interestingly Murali equalled his own record, which was made in 2001-02 season. No bowler other than Murali has succeeded in claiming 10 wickets in more than two successive matches, which is a clear indication of man's class and talent. Since his international debut in 1992, Murali has enjoyed more success than any other spinner except Shane Keith Warne and has become one of the most acclaimed cricketers of the modern age. So what it is that Murali is generally recognised as the greatest Sri Lankan player and the greatest off spinner in cricket history? Murali's unorthodox bowling action begins with a unique "flapping wings" run-up, complete with bulging eyes, and culminates with an extremely wristy delivery, which, he claims, often had him mistaken for a leg spinner early in his career. Murali generates a prodigious amount of turn, in addition to the flighting of the ball that is very hard for a batsman to play at. Aside from his off break, he also a bowls a fast top-spinner which goes straight on, and his own interpretation of Saqlain Mushtaq 's controversial doosra delivery, which turns from leg to off. In 2002, Wisden named Murali the greatest bowler of all time. In May 2004, in Zimbabwe, he overtook Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test match wickets to become the highest-wicket taker of all time. Warne overtook Murali's number of wickets in late 2004 but believes that the younger Murali will eventually be the one to finish with the record, saying he believes that Murali will take "1000 wickets" in Test cricket before he retires. Statistically, there is no doubt that Murali is one of the most effective bowlers ever to play cricket in both international forms of the game, having taken over 600 Test wickets and over 400 ODI wickets. But controversy has always dogged Murali’s action, especially amongst many purists, as to some it appears that it contravenes the laws of the game by straightening the arm in the course of the delivery. This is despite his action being exonerated unanimously by an international panel consisting of members from every Test playing nation. The controversy came to a head after Australian umpire Darrell Hair called a "no ball" for an illegal action seven times during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995. After discussions between the Australian Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, Hair umpired no further games involving Sri Lanka in the season. Reaction to Hair's actions was mixed. He was widely criticised in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, but some, particularly in Australia, felt that it was long overdue. It would be simplistic to assume that opinion was divided purely by nationality though, with Australia's greatest ever cricketer, Sir Donald Bradman, quoted as saying it was the "worst example of umpiring that he had witnessed, and against everything the game stands for. Clearly Murali does not throw the ball". Murali was later no-balled for throwing by Australian umpires Ross Emerson and Tony McQuillan in a one-day international against the West Indies, in Brisbane, Australia, in the same summer. Following this season, Murali underwent biomechanical tests in Hong Kong and Australia under the supervision of bowling experts, who cleared his action as legal, citing a congenital defect in Murali's arm which makes him incapable of straightening it, but giving the appearance of the arm straightening in the bowling action. Doubts about Murali's action persisted, particularly in Australia. In 1999, he was once again called for throwing by umpire Ross Emerson in an ODI against England, at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the president of the BCCSL (relayed to captain Arjuna Ranatunga by mobile phone) the game resumed. Murali took his 500th Test wicket in the second Test against Australia in Kandy on March 16, 2004. At the end of the series his doosra delivery was officially called into question by match referee Chris Broad and Muralitharan was entered into a two-stage remedial process for bowlers with suspect actions under the supervision of the International Cricket Council ('ICC'). The delivery was examined by biomechanical experts who found it to exceed the current tolerance limit, regarding the degree of bend in the arm, of five degrees for slow bowlers. Australian Prime Minister John Howard weighed in, controversially labelling Murali a 'chucker'. Despite this Murali won accolades from former Australian captain, Stephen Rodger Waugh , who said that he felt Murali's action was perfectly legal and added that he was "the Don Bradman of bowling". Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-South Africa-Sri Lanka Tri Series 2006 Team Page: India Team Page: Sri Lanka | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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