Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan admitted his last international appearance had been a letdown following a six-wicket World Cup final defeat by India.
The 38-year-old bowled a wicketless spell of eight overs for 39 runs.
He bid farewell to a career that yielded 800 wickets in 133 Tests and 534 in One-Day Internationals, both world records.
“It was a little bit disappointing because my main aim was to win the World Cup,” said Muralitharan on his return to Colombo on Sunday.
“But unfortunately we couldn’t do that because India were a better side on the day.”
Sri Lanka, who made 274 for six on the back of Mahela Jayawardene’s unbeaten century, saw fast-bowler Lasith Malinga strike to remove openers Virender Sehwag (nought) and Sachin Tendulkar (18).
However, both Muralitharan and off-spinner Suraj Randiv (none for 43) were able to follow-up.
“If I or Suraj took a few wickets then the story would have been different. These things happen so you have to move on and I’d like to wish the team well for the future. Hopefully, in 2015 they’ll bring home the Cup.”
Muralitharan’s big finish was probably when he took a wicket with his final ball on home soil as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in the semi-final in Colombo, with thousands of fans watching him chaired round the ground.
He has also won plaudits for his Foundation of Goodness charity, set up to help Sri Lanka from the carnage of the massive 2004 tsunami, and Muralitharan recently announced plans to build a sports complex for war-displaced civilians.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2011.
1714024018-0/ModiLara-(1)1714024018-0-270x192.webp)
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ