LANKA GIVE GRAND FAREWELL TO MURALI AS HE SCRIPTS FAIRYTALE FINISH TO TEST CAREER

Galle: The most complex bowler of our times, and the most prolific, had bagged his 800th, an entirely personal landmark which has raised the bar so unthinkably high that none will dare contemplate even coming close. What reasonable target can a good bowler, off-spinner or otherwise, set for himself now, given shortened career spans and the dwindling frequency of Tests?
    The moment also marked the end of one of the greatest eras in spin bowling, with three geniuses— Murali, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble— who have regaled, entertained and teased fans with their wizardry for the larger part of two decades, now gone. Mysteriously, this was also supposed to be the period of alleged demise of spin bowling.
    It's amazing how Murali's persistence scripted the perfect fairytale finish. There was pressure, as he admitted later, for no less was expected of him. He captured his 67th five-wicket haul in the first innings to raise expectation. Captain Kumar Sangakkara gave him ample opportunity, removing the devastating Lasith Malinga from the attack. Would Murali's farewell and the quest for an impossible figure dash Sri Lanka's victory march?
    True to form for someone whose career cycle has been marked by endless controversy over his action, inevitably followed by a masterful performance, Murali mastered the odds in his last Test too. He played an instrumental role as India went down by 10 wickets to lose the first Test of the series (even if the Test's outcome was lost in the outpouring of joy for Murali).

    "It was tense, I was worried because we needed to win,'' the modest and forthright Murali said later. "I have had my share of those who did not believe. But life is all about forgetting and forgiving. You won't miss me much.''
    He's, of course, wrong. Murali faced abuse in Australia, had detractors within the establishment, underwent biometric tests to prove he was above board. Some like Bedi will never be convinced. But it's testimony to his grand bag of tricks that no batsman can claim to have ever mastered his wrist-spinner's off-breaks, or that Houdini of a Doosra.
    Eight hundred wickets for one man, in an 18-year career, isn't cricket's equivalent of landing on the moon. It's cricket's equivalent of discovering alien life. That's how unique Murali was, both on and off the field. The only Tamil to play cricket for Sri Lanka, he has been a flag-bearer both for his people and the island-nation in times of war and ethnic strife. There is no greater unifier in Lanka than Murali.
    His send-off was a grand, almost a family affair, the likes of which have not been seen in cricket before, not for Sobers or Bradman or Gavaskar. Marching bands trumpeted their stuff with military reverence. His parents, wife and son were invited on the dias. For the last time on a cricket field, but not for the first, Murali spoke for the majority of cricket lovers, not a minority.