Muttiah Muraliharan Biography
Skill, magic and determination are words that clearly define the career of this spin wizard from the island of Sri Lanka. Born and brought up in the cultural capital of the island, Kandy, this right arm off spinner with a rather unorthodox bowling action made quick inroads into the national side playing his first test at the age of 20. Known for his ability to turn the ball on any given surface and his continuous enthusiasm for the game, this spin king was quickly nicknamed the ‘smiling assassin’.
The right arm off spinner broke into the scheme of things in August 1992 in a test against Australia where he picked up the wickets of batsmen of the repertoire of Mark Waugh and Tom Moody and also featured in the 1996 world cup winning side. ‘Murali’ rocked the cricketing world when he took Sri Lanka to their first test victory in England against the home side with figures of 7 for 155 and 9 for 65 at the Oval in the year 1998. The maestro continued his brilliance with the ball as he took 6 for 87 and 7 for 84 against South Africa at Galle in the year 2000 dismissing all eleven batsmen over two innings. Murali played a crucial role with the ball to take his side to the finals of the 2007 World Cup. All was not rosy in the cricketing life of Muralitharan as he was pulled up for a suspect action on several occasions. Not many can forget the Ross Emerson incident in 1999 where he was officiating as the on field umpire and pulled up Muralitharan for an illegal action deeming the delivery to be a no ball on seven instances. The matter got so intense that the Lankans threatened to walk off the field. The smiling assassin did not get too perturbed by it and fought all odds with the support of his captain Arjuna Ranatunga to stage a spectacular comeback.
Muralitharan’s most striking facet is his bowling action which features a combination of shoulder strength, a quick arm and wrist, and a slightly bent elbow. The action has been bitter-sweet for the off spinner making him susceptible to allegations of bowling with an illegal action and reaping rewards in the form of 800 test wickets. Murali’s delivery the ‘doosra’, the one that doesn’t turn but goes straight on, has been one of the biggest reasons for his overall success as a bowler and has been his weapon of mass destruction. At the age of 38, Muralitharan has decided to call it quits as far as test cricket is concerned but continues to display his everlasting hunger for success in the one day format.
Fast Facts
Muralitharan has taken 90 wickets in a calendar year, 2006, in test cricket falling six short of the record of most wickets in a calendar year which is held by Shane Warne
He holds the record for the most number of player of the series awards in tests with a tally of 11
He holds the record for being the fastest to get to 400 wickets ( 72 matches),500( 87 matches) wickets, 600( 101 matches) wickets and 700 wickets ( 113 matches) and is the only bowler to have ever taken 800 wickets
Has the record for most number of wickets taken bowled (167), most number of wickets taken caught and bowled (35), most number of wickets taken caught by fielder (388) and most number of wickets taken stumped (47)
Has been the Wisden cricketer of the year in 1999 and Wisden leading cricketer of the year in 2006
He has taken more wickets than Imran Khan(362) and Dennis Lillee(355) put together
He has once bowled two leg spin deliveries in a test match against South Africa
Skill, magic and determination are words that clearly define the career of this spin wizard from the island of Sri Lanka. Born and brought up in the cultural capital of the island, Kandy, this right arm off spinner with a rather unorthodox bowling action made quick inroads into the national side playing his first test at the age of 20. Known for his ability to turn the ball on any given surface and his continuous enthusiasm for the game, this spin king was quickly nicknamed the ‘smiling assassin’.
The right arm off spinner broke into the scheme of things in August 1992 in a test against Australia where he picked up the wickets of batsmen of the repertoire of Mark Waugh and Tom Moody and also featured in the 1996 world cup winning side. ‘Murali’ rocked the cricketing world when he took Sri Lanka to their first test victory in England against the home side with figures of 7 for 155 and 9 for 65 at the Oval in the year 1998. The maestro continued his brilliance with the ball as he took 6 for 87 and 7 for 84 against South Africa at Galle in the year 2000 dismissing all eleven batsmen over two innings. Murali played a crucial role with the ball to take his side to the finals of the 2007 World Cup. All was not rosy in the cricketing life of Muralitharan as he was pulled up for a suspect action on several occasions. Not many can forget the Ross Emerson incident in 1999 where he was officiating as the on field umpire and pulled up Muralitharan for an illegal action deeming the delivery to be a no ball on seven instances. The matter got so intense that the Lankans threatened to walk off the field. The smiling assassin did not get too perturbed by it and fought all odds with the support of his captain Arjuna Ranatunga to stage a spectacular comeback.
Muralitharan’s most striking facet is his bowling action which features a combination of shoulder strength, a quick arm and wrist, and a slightly bent elbow. The action has been bitter-sweet for the off spinner making him susceptible to allegations of bowling with an illegal action and reaping rewards in the form of 800 test wickets. Murali’s delivery the ‘doosra’, the one that doesn’t turn but goes straight on, has been one of the biggest reasons for his overall success as a bowler and has been his weapon of mass destruction. At the age of 38, Muralitharan has decided to call it quits as far as test cricket is concerned but continues to display his everlasting hunger for success in the one day format.
Fast Facts
Muralitharan has taken 90 wickets in a calendar year, 2006, in test cricket falling six short of the record of most wickets in a calendar year which is held by Shane Warne
He holds the record for the most number of player of the series awards in tests with a tally of 11
He holds the record for being the fastest to get to 400 wickets ( 72 matches),500( 87 matches) wickets, 600( 101 matches) wickets and 700 wickets ( 113 matches) and is the only bowler to have ever taken 800 wickets
Has the record for most number of wickets taken bowled (167), most number of wickets taken caught and bowled (35), most number of wickets taken caught by fielder (388) and most number of wickets taken stumped (47)
Has been the Wisden cricketer of the year in 1999 and Wisden leading cricketer of the year in 2006
He has taken more wickets than Imran Khan(362) and Dennis Lillee(355) put together
He has once bowled two leg spin deliveries in a test match against South Africa
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muraliharan
Muttiah Muralitharan | Test Cricket's greatest bowler
Proof that Muttiah Muralitharan does not chuck
No comments:
Post a Comment