Muttiah Muralidaran is widely regarded as the most successful and one of the greatest bowlers in the history. He holds key world records for the most of 800 Test wickets and 534 ODI wickets. Murali also holds the world record of highest international wickets combined of 1347 in Tests, ODIs and T20s, besides an array of world records and many firsts in cricket.
Murali was a member of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 Cricket World Cup. He was the first Sri Lankan cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He was rated the greatest Test match bowler by Wisden’s Cricketers’Almanac in 2002, and 2017.
Murali is the first wrist-spinning off-spinner in the history of the game. He bowled marathon spells, yet he was usually on the attack. His unique bowling action began with a short run-up, and culminated with an open-chested extremely wristy release from a partly supinated forearm which had him mistaken for a leg-spinner early in his career.
Aside from his stock delivery, the off-break, of which he claimed to have two variations, his main deliveries were a fast top spinner which lands on the seam and usually goes straight on, and the ‘doosra,’ a surprise delivery which turns from leg to off with no easily discernible change of action.
He would occasionally use one of his several unnamed novelties. His super-flexible wrist made him especially potent and guaranteed him turn on any surface.
Murali married Madhimalar Ramamurthy, a Chennai native, on March 21, 2005 and were blessed with a son, Naren, in January 2006.
Birth and Early Career
Murali was born on April 17, 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He is the eldest of the four sons of Sinnasamy Muttiah and Lakshmi. Murali was sent to St. Anthony’s College in Kandy. At just 9, he began his cricket as a medium pace bowler.
Later, at 14, on the advice of his coach, Sunil Fernando, he took up off-spin and played in the school First XI for four years as an all-rounder. In his final two seasons, he took over 100 wickets and was named as the “Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year” in 1990/91.
He was chosen for the Sri Lanka ‘A’ tour of England in 1991. Murali played for Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in the Premier Trophy and Central Province. His record is exceptional – 234 wickets at 14.51 runs in 46 matches.
He also played county cricket in England, mainly for Lancashire (1999, 2001, 2005 and 2007), appearing in 28 first-class games. He played five first class games for Kent during the 2003 season. His bowling record in English domestic cricket is extraordinary – 236 wickets at 15.62 runs in 33 matches. Murali was signed by Gloucestershire in 2011 to play in T20 matches.
Murali represented Bengal in the 2008/09 Ranji Trophy tournament. In 2008, Murali was slated to play T20 cricket in the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings and captured 11 wickets in 15 games, at 6.96 an over. At the 2010IPL, Murali was part of the Chennai Super Kings side that won the championship.
At the 2011, IPL Murali played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala and in 2012, Murali moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he took 14 wickets in 9 games at an average economy rate of 6.38, and continued with them till 2014.Mural was appointed as the bowling coach and mentor of the 2015 IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Test Match Career
On August 28, 1992 at 20, Murali made his Test debut against Australia at the R. Premadasa Stadium in the Second Test and claimed 3 for 141. Craig McDermott was his first Test wicket. His freakish action and his angular run-up showed that this was no run-of-the-mill spinner.
Murali grew from strength to strength, playing a major part in Sri Lanka’s back-to-back Test victories against England and New Zealand in 1992/93. It was at this point in his career that he struck a close bond with his leader, mentor and the authoritative captain Arjuna Ranatunga.
In August 1993 at Moratuwa, Murali captured 5 for 104 in South Africa’s first innings, his first five-wicket haul in Tests. In India in 1993/94, Murali was the sole success, with 12 wickets.
In March 1995, Murali confused the crease-bound New Zealanders on a grassy pitch in Dunedin in Sri Lanka’s first triumph on foreign soil. During his tour of Pakistan later, he took 19 wickets, delivering a historic 2–1 victory. By November 1995, Murali had captured 80 wickets in 22 Tests at an unflattering average of 32.74 and was the leading wicket taker for Sri Lanka.
During the Second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day 1995, Australian umpire Darrell Hair no-balled Murali on seven times in three overs. He believed Murali was bending his arm and straightening it in the process of delivery.
Murali’s career was beset by controversy over his bowling action. The ICC, cleared his action after biomechanical analysis under simulated playing conditions at the University of Western Australia and at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, twice in 1996 and 1999. The conclusion convinced the ICC to redefine the bowling laws in cricket.
On March 16, 1997, Murali became the first Sri Lankan to reach 100 test wickets in the Test with New Zealand. In January 1998, Murali took his first ten-wicket haul,12 for 117.against Zimbabwe in the First Test at Kandy.
In August 1998, Murali produced his career-best test match figures of 16 for 220, in the Test against England at the Oval. In England’s second innings Murali bowled a marathon 54.2 overs to pick up 9 for 65 runs and Sri Lanka recorded their first Test victory in England. Murali and Jim Laker (England) are the only bowlers to have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.
In December 2000, playing in his 58th test, Murali claimed his 300th test wicket when he dismissed Shaun Pollock in the First Test in Durban. In January 2002, Murali just missed achieving the best-ever figures for a single innings, capturing 9 for 51 in the first innings of Zimbabwe in Kandy. He had 4 for 64 in the second, equalling Richard Hadlee’s record of 10 ten-wicket match hauls, but needing 15 fewer Tests to do so.
On January 15, 2002 playing in his 72nd test, Murali became the fastest and youngest to reach the 400-wicket landmark when he bowled Henry Olonga in the third Test versus Zimbabwe in Galle. On March 16, 2004, in his 87th test, Murali became the fastest and the youngest to reach 500 wickets during the Second Test with Australia in Kandy, claiming Michael Kasprowicz as his 500th victim.
World Bowling Records
In May 2004, Murali overtook West Indian Courtney Walsh’s world record of 519 Test wickets. Zimbabwe’s Mluleki Nkala became Murali’s 520th scalp in Tests. Murali then suffered a shoulder injury and in October 2004, Shane Warne surpassed Murali’s mark of 532 wickets.
In 2006, Murali took 60 wickets in six Tests, playing with England away, South Africa at home and New Zealand away. He also achieved ten wickets each in four successive matches, the second time he performed such a feat. In all, Murali took 90 wickets in 11 Tests in the calendar year and was named in the World Test XI by ICC.
In July 2007, Murali reached the 700-wickets landmark when he had Bangladesh’s Syed Rasel at the Test at the Asgiriya in Kandy. Murali finished with six wickets in each innings to claim 10 wickets or more in a Test for the 20th time. Murali also achieved a career peak Test Bowling Rating of 920, based on the LG ICC Player Rankings.
During the First Test against England at Kandy on December 3, 2007, Murali bowled England’s Paul Collingwood to claim his 709th Test victim to overtake Shane Warne and to reclaim the world record. Murali reached the mark in his 116th Test, 29 Tests fewer than Warne and had conceded only 21.77 runs per wicket compared to the Australian Warne’s 25.41.
In July 2008, Sri Lanka won the First Test with India by a record innings and 239 runs in Colombo, with Murali claiming 11 wickets for 110. The match saw the emergence of debutant Ajantha Mendis, an unorthodox spinner, who took eight wickets. In 2007 and 2008, Murali was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.
At the start of his final Test against India, Murali was eight short of 800 wickets. At the fall of the ninth wicket of the Indian’s second innings Murali still needed one wicket to reach the milestone. He dismissed the Indian batsman Pragyan Ojha on the last delivery of the final over of his Test career to register his 800th wicket on July 22, 2010.
An aggressive lower order batsman who usually batted at No. 11, Murali was known for his tendency to back away to leg and slog. Sometimes, he could be troublesome for bowlers because of his unorthodox and adventurous ways. His highest Test score of 67 came against India at Kandy in 2001, including three sixes and five fours.
Murali held the number one spot in the ICC’s Player Rankings for Test bowlers for a record period of 1,711 days spanning 214 Test matches. Murali was clearly the leading Test wicket-taker during the decade 2000/09, capturing 565 wickets at 20.97 and was on the winning side in 54 of the 133 test matches he played.
ODI Career
On August 12, 1993 Murali made his ODI debut against India at the R. Premadasa Stadium and took 1 for 38 off ten overs. Pravin Amre was his first ODI wicket. On October 27, 2000 in Sharjah, Murali captured his best ODI bowling figures of 7 for 30 against India.
On April 9, 2002 Murali achieved a career peak ODI Bowling Rating of 913, based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. In 2006 and 2007, he was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC.
Murali played in five Cricket World Cup tournaments, in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. He captured 67 World Cup wickets and represented Sri Lanka in three World Cup finals. He identified Sri Lanka’s World Cup win of 1996 as his greatest moment as a cricketer.
He was named in the ‘Team of the Tournament’ for 2007 and 2011 World Cups by the ICC. The 2011 World Cup final against India in Mumbai was his farewell match.
Murali has the highest number of 534 wickets in ODIs, having overtaken Wasim Akram (502) on February 5, 2009 in Colombo. Murali won 13 “Man of the Match” awards. His highest-ever ODI score, 33 not out (4 fours and 2 sixes off 16 balls) was against Bangladesh in 2009.
World Records
Murali’s other world records and firsts: The fastest to reach 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750 and 800 Test wickets, in terms of matches played; the most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Tests (67); the most 10-wicket hauls in a match at Tests (22); capturing 10 wickets/match against every Test playing nation; capturing 10 wickets in a Test in four consecutive matches; capturing 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation; the highest wickets/match ratio (6.1) for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets; 7 wickets in an innings against the most countries (5); the most Test wickets taken bowled (167), stumped (47) and caught and bowled (35) jointly with Anil Kumble; bowled by Muralidaran is the most common dismissal in Test cricket; most successful bowler/fielder combination – c. Mahela Jayawardene b. Muttiah Muralidaran (77); most test wickets caught by a fielder(388); most wickets taken caught(435); most “Man of the Series” awards in Test cricket (11); most Test wickets in a single ground - captured 100-plus Test wickets at three venues, the SSC in Colombo, the Asgiriya in Kandy and the Galle International Stadium in Galle; the only bowler to take 75 or more wickets in a calendar year in test cricket on three occasions(2000, 2001 and 2006); most five wicket hauls in international career (77); most balls bowled in international cricket career (63,132); most balls bowled in test career (44,039); the most test wickets when playing at home soil (493); only bowler to take 100 or more wickets in a calendar year four times (1998, 2000, 2001 and 2006) across all formats (ODI, Test and T20); highest number of 136 wickets in a calendar year in Tests, ODIs and T20s combined (2001).
Legacy
In 2002, Wisden ranked Murali as the best Test bowler of all time. Murali was selected as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and in 2006. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh called him “the Don Bradman of bowling.”
On November 15, 2007, the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy was unveiled named after the two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket. This trophy will be contested between Australia and Sri Lanka in all future Test series.
On December 3, 2007, just hours after Murali became Test cricket’s leading Test wicket-taker, Marylebone Cricket Club announced it had unveiled a portrait of Murali at Lord’s.
On the same day the Philatelic Bureau in Sri Lanka issued a circular stamp and the first-day cover bears an official seal captioned as “The highest wicket taker in Test cricket, MUTTIAH MURALIDARAN, 03.12.2007.”
Australian musician Alston Koch provoked worldwide interest when he recorded the only official tribute song to Murali which was even mentioned on the BBC’s Test Match Special. The song video was released after he broke the world record.
Murali along with his manager Kushil Gunasekara, established the charitable organisation “Foundation of Goodness” in the early 2000s. It is committed to the wellbeing of the ‘Seenigama’ (village in Sri Lanka) region and supports children’s needs, education and training, health care and psycho-social support, housing, livelihoods, sport and the environment.
When the Indian Ocean earthquake devastated Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, Murali contributed to the relief programs and raised funds to help survivors, and has built homes, schools, sports facilities and computer centres.
On January 10, 2008, the Parliament of Sri Lanka felicitated Murali for his world record breaking feat of being the highest wicket taker in Test cricket. This was the first time a sportsman was honoured in the country’s Supreme Legislature. Murali has been bestowed the National honour of “Deshabandu.”
In June 2004, Murali also joined the United Nations World Food Program as an ambassador to fight hunger among school children. On August 1, 2015, Murali was appointed as a Brand Ambassador for the Presidential Task Force to combat kidney disease.
(The author is an Associate Professor, International Scholar, winner of Presidential Awards and multiple National Accolades for Academic pursuits in Sports. He possesses a PhD, MPhil, and MSc in Sports. His email is [email protected])