Sri Lanka's campaign in the Twenty20 World Cup on Monday suffered a blow with off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan being ruled out of the entire tournament due to a groin strain.
There seems no end to the list of Sachin Tendulkar admirers and the latest to laud the Indian batting icon is West Indian fast bowling great Courtney Walsh.
Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in ODIs and Test cricket, is all set to make a surprise farewell tour of Australia. He also declared his intentions to play the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent.
Retired spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan on Friday slammed Sri Lankan Cricket Board for asking its players to return home midway through the Indian Premier League for a tour to England, saying the No Objection Certificate had permitted them to play till May 20.
One of the finest spinners of all-time, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan bowed out of international cricket as the highest wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs though he failed to make an impact in his swansong match -- the World Cup final against India.
With the cloud over Muttiah Muralitharan's fitness still remaining for the World Cup final against India, the spin wizard has made it clear that he will play in the final.
Muttiah Muralitharan took a wicket with his final ball on home soil as Sri Lanka took control of the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. The Kiwis could put up only 217 from 48.5 overs.
Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan plans to travel the world and raise funds to build a sports complex for war-ravaged civilians in his country.
Legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on Monday made it clear he will continue to play cricket for another three years as he felt fit enough to feature in Indian Premier League and English county circuit.
Middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh will soon rediscover his touch and play an important role for India in the next year's World Cup in the sub-continent, feels legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
'When a finger spinner bowls, the ball is released with seam so that there is turn and bounce. When you are bowling the googly, the seam will be scrambled and very difficult to pick'
Habibul Bashar won the toss and elected to field against Sri Lanka in the first qualifying match of the ICC Champions Trophy.
The dreaded duo of Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan will be missing from the Sri Lankan bowling attack but Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said their absence does not make his batsmen's job any easy in the second cricket Test starting in Colombo on Monday.
With the individual brilliance of just-retired Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga missing, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday said his team will have to build bowling partnerships to trouble the Indians in the second cricket Test starting in Colombo on Monday.
Reader Tushar Gorde sends us some photographs.
Pakistan pacer Sohail Tanvir will replace Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan as one of the two foreign recruits in Australian state side Victoria Bushrangers for the upcoming KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. 'The 24-year-old Tanvir joins the West Indies' Dwayne Bravo as the two international signings for the tournament, following the withdrawal of the Sri Lankan spin king, who has scheduling conflicts,' read a Victoria Bushrangers statement.
The Indian team practised hard at Colombo on Saturday to ensure the mistakes made at Galle aren't repeated.
Sri Lanka suffered a big jolt ahead of the second cricket Test against India as paceman Lasith Malinga was on Saturday ruled out due to a stiff knee.
Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss said his players are hoping that retiring spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will bow out of the five-day game with a victory by producing another memorable performance on Thursday, the fifth day of the first Test against India, in Galle.
Muttiah Muralitharan's superb bowling kept Sri Lanka on course for an innings victory over India on Day 4 of the first Test in Galle on Wednesday. The wily spinner, playing his final Test, took five for 63 in the first innings and then claimed the wicket of Yuvraj Singh (5) in the second innings with the final delivery of the day to put the Lankans high in the saddle. He now needs just two wickets to breach the magical 800-wicket mark in Test cricket.
Images from the opening day of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle, on Sunday.
ICC President Sharad Pawar paid glowing tributes to retiring Sri Lanka spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, describing him as a legend, role model and a great ambassador of the game.
Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan on Thursday posed faith in his teammates to repeat the 1996 World Cup winning feat as the strong sub-continental contenders geared up for the quadrennial extravaganza.
Sri Lanka eased to a 26-run victory in the third one-dayer against West Indies to wrap up the series 2-0 on Sunday.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been included in the 16-member squad for the three-Test series against India, starting at Galle on July 18. He made his last Test appearance in December 2007 against England.
Batsmen all over the world will rejoice with the news that legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is retiring very soon, Australian vice captain Michael Clarke has said.
Kumar Sangakkara has been appointed Sri Lanka captain, the selectors confirmed on Wednesday. Sangakkara, 31, the vice-captain since 2006, was the obvious heir apparent to Mahela Jayawardene, who stepped down after the recent Pakistan tour which was abandoned when gunmen attacked the team bus on the way to the stadium in Lahore.
"I read in the newspapers somewhere recently that a boy in Mumbai scored 400-odd runs. The papers said he's going to be the next Sachin. How can anyone say that?" an incredulous Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan asks as the Indian master batsman completed 20 years of international cricket on Sunday.
Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on Tuesday said that he will miss his previous IPL team Chennai Super Kings and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni but is excited to play for Kochi franchisee, the new entrants in the Twenty20 league.
Muttiah Muralitharan went past Wasim Akram to become the highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene and vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara were left out of Sri Lanka's 15-man squad on Tuesday for the Twenty20 match against India next week. Tillakaratne Dilshan will lead the side, with Chamara Kapugedera serving as his deputy.
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi, who never misses an opportunity to take a dig at Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh, has once again lashed out at the two premier off-spinners.
Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan has been signed by Australian domestic club Victorian Bushrangers to play in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash competition for the 2009-10 season.
Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan has said that he was shocked when umpire Darrell Hair called him seven times in three overs for his action in 1995.
Legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on Friday said Australia does not have enough fire in its bowling unit, which is the reason for its extended poor run and may also dent chances in the upcoming Ashes series against England.
It took Robin Uthappa just two overs to change the match.
Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has been named in Sri Lanka's one-day international squad for their five-match series against Pakistan, starting next week, after recovering from a knee injury. Muralitharan, 37, the highest wicket-taker in ODI history, missed the three-match Test series with a tendon injury and will team up with Ajantha Mendis and recalled leg spinner Malinga Bandara in a 15-man squad that includes three spinners.
John Howard had called him a chucker but Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan says he has forgiven the former Australian Prime Minister, who has been nominated to take over as ICC President from 2012.
Sri Lanka fought off a strong challenge from Ireland at Lord's on Sunday to win their Twenty20 World Cup Super Eight match by nine runs. Ireland, the only non-Test playing nation still in the tournament, restricted the 1996 World one-day champions to 144 for nine after Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat.
An exceptional bowling performance helped Chennai Super Kings make up for some sordid batting and thrash Kings XI Punjab by 24 runs in a low-scoring Indian Premier League match at Kingsmead, Durban on Wednesday and confirm second place in the league table.
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