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Lanka hungry for revenge: Murali

July 17, 2006 12:12 IST

Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan on Sunday said his team was keen to avenge its drubbing on Indian soil last year in the upcoming one-day cricket tri-series in Colombo.

Sri Lanka were outplayed 6-1 by India in the one-day series in September-October last year and the tri-series would be their first meeting since then. South Africa is the third team in fray for the August 14 to 29 one-day competition.

"We have shown our strength by winning the series against England last month. We had played extremely well against them. We are also keen to take revenge for our loss on Indian soil last season," he told reporters after flagging off the MyTVS Heritage Car Rally

in Chennai.

Sri Lanka, rejuvenated by the return of veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, blanked England 5-0 in a recent one-day series.

Sounding upbeat about continuing their winning spree, Muralitharan said, "we will be able to win the tri-series since we enjoy home conditions. We definitely have an edge over India and South Africa."

The off-spinner is also looking forward to renew his on-field rivalry with Sachin Tendulkar, who he hoped would be fit in time for the contest.

"Sachin is a great player. He knows how to recover fast from an injury. I hope he would be fit to play the tri-series." On his chances of breaking Shane Warne's record of taking highest number of Test wickets, Muralitharan said, "ultimately, one who plays more Test matches will be the world record holder".

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