On this day in 1972, Sri Lanka spin great Muthiah Muralidaran was born
Apr 17, 2023
New Delhi [India], April 17 : Sri Lankan bowler Muthiah Muralidaran, one of the greatest spinners to ever grace the game of cricket, turned 51 on Monday.
This spinner holds several records in international cricket and won many matches with his deceiving, genius right arm offbreak for Sri Lanka.
The cricketer made his international debut in 1992 against Australia in a Test match. In his first match, the spinner had spells of 1/32 in 17 overs and 2/109 in 34 overs, taking wickets of Craig McDermott, Tom Moody and Mark Waugh. The match ended in a draw.
Since then, Muralidaran has represented Sri Lanka in 133 Test matches. In these, he has taken 800 wickets at an average of 22.72 and an economy rate of 2.47. His best bowling figures in an inning are 9/51. He is the highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket.
The Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo was a venue where Muralidaran loved to play, taking 166 Test wickets at that venue, which is a record for most wickets at a single venue by a bowler in Tests.
The spinner also holds a record of most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket, getting a total of 67, with Late Australian spin great Shane Warne (37 five-wicket hauls) being a distant rival. Muralidaran also has the most number of 10-wicket hauls in a Test match, a grand total of 22. Warne once again, dwarfs in comparison to the Lankan great with 10 ten-wicket hauls in Tests.
He has bowled the most number of balls by a bowler in Tests, with a total of 44,039 balls.
Muralidaran is the fastest to 350 wickets (66 matches), 400 wickets (72 matches), 450 wickets (80 wickets), 500 wickets (87 matches), 600 wickets (101 matches), 700 wickets (113 matches), 750 wickets (122 matches) and 800 wickets (133 matches) in the longer format.
He has the second-highest number of Player of the Match awards in Test cricket, with a total of 19 (next to South Africa's Jacques Kallis, who has 23) and the highest number of 'Player of the Series' awards in the longer format, with a total of 11.
Muralidaran also made an impact in ODI cricket. In 350 ODIs, he has taken 534 wickets at an average of 23.08 and an economy rate of 3.93. His best bowling figures in ODI are 7/30.
The spinner has the record for the highest wickets in ODI cricket.
He has the second-highest number of five-wicket hauls in ODIs (10), next to Pakistan legend Waqar Younis (13).
With a total of 18,811 balls, the spin wizard has bowled the highest number of balls in ODI cricket as well, reflecting his importance in Sri Lanka's set-up across red-ball and white-ball cricket.
Muralidaran is the fourth fastest to 300 ODI wickets (202 matches), third fastest to 350 ODI wickets (229 matches), second-fastest to 400 ODI wickets (263 matches) and fastest to 450 ODI wickets (295 matches) and 500 ODI wickets (324 matches).
The spinner was one of the stars of Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning side in 1996, which was their first-ever major title win. In six matches, he took seven wickets at an average of 30.85 and an economy rate of 3.77. His best bowling figures in the tournament were 2/37.
He also had memorable World Cup campaigns in 2007 and 2011, in which Sri Lanka ended as runners-up. Muralidaran emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, with a total of 23 wickets, next to Australia's Glenn McGrath (26 wickets). He also clinched 15 wickets in the next World Cup in 2011 and ended among the top 10 bowlers in the tournament.
Muralidaran has a total of 68 wickets in his World Cup career from 1996 to 2011 at an average of 19.63 and an economy of 3.88. His best bowling figures in the tournament are 4/19. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in the Cricket World Cup history, below Australia's Glenn McGrath (71 wickets).
He was also part of the sides which won the Asia Cup in 1997, 2004 and 2008. With a total of 30 wickets, he has the highest number of wickets in across Asia Cups held in the ODI format.
The spinner also represented Sri Lanka in the shortest format of the game. He has taken 13 wickets in 12 T20Is, with the best bowling figures of 3/29.
Muralidaran also graced the Indian Premier League (IPL) with his presence, winning the 2010 IPL title with Chennai Super Kings. With 15 wickets in that edition of the tournament, he was a star in CSK's first-ever IPL win.
In all, Muralidaran has gigantic stats in international cricket. By the time he retired from the sport in 2011, he was the highest-wicket taker in international cricket. His total of 1,347 wickets in the sport at its highest level is highly unlikely to be breached any time soon. He also has 77 five-wicket hauls in the sport, the most by any bowler. Muralidaran was one busy bowler, having bowled 63,132 deliveries in international cricket, which is the highest by any bowler.
In 2016, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, becoming the first Sri Lankan cricketer to accomplish this honour.
These records clearly prove one thing: There would not be another Muttiah Muralidaran again in cricket! .
