Muttiah Muralitharan reaches 800 Test wickets with his last ball

Sri Lanka's record-breaking spinner leaves the Test arena after setting a mark no other bowler has a hope of surpassing

What theatre. What drama. Oh to have been in the stands at Galle, or perched on the flag-fluttering ramparts of the fort, as Murali, shoulder twingeing, twirled down over after fruitless over, 23 of them, in search of that final wicket.

When Hirst and Rhodes famously "got 'em in singles", a spectator is said to have gnawed his way through the handle of his umbrella such was the tension. No brolly would have been safe yesterday. And what a roar must have echoed off the fort walls as Mahela Jayawardene plunged to pilfer the catch that sealed the innings and, as if it ever needed further defining, Muttiah Muralitharan's place in the pantheon. An 800th Test wicket, the final one of his final innings, with his last ball on the final day of a peerless career.

Metaphorically, the roar echoed round the world too, as we followed the progress ball by ball on Cricinfo, waiting to be told "WICKET!" and then "MURALI". If this was Murali's day then we should not forget the catcher, for this was the dream ending by the most deadly combination of fielder and bowler the game has seen, the 77th catch that Mahela had taken off the bowling of Murali, the most by any non‑wicketkeeper from a single bowler, a record that will almost certainly stand the test of time. Only Rahul Dravid, who took 55 catches from Anil Kumble's bowling, and Mark Taylor, who pouched 51 from Shane Warne, have reached 50.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/201...st-wickets