<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />Confounding all gainsayers Muttiah Muralitharan, the best bowler that the world has seen in terms of taking wickets, has equalled the world record that Courtney Walsh had taken away from India''s Kapil Dev. <br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="28.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/663502.cms" alt="/photo/663502.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal">Spin maestro Muttiah Muralitharan</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">In the first Test of the series against Zimbabwe, he has equalled the world record of 519 Test wickets and within a day or two he is expected to become the world record holder.
<br /><br />But life on the pitch has not been a smooth one for Murali. He has been dogged by controversy every year of his career and although he was cut up about it, he always came back emotionally charged up for his next challenge. Showing that criticism not at all affects him, he has gone on his merry way, year after year flabbergasting the best of batsmen from every country with his virtually unplayable deliveries. <br /><br />His run-in with the cricket establishment came when he was infamously called for ''chucking'' by Australian umpire Darrel Hair on the Australian tour repeatedly in 1995, but his captain, the legendary Arjuna Ranatunga stood by him, even taking off the Lankan team from the ground in protest. Shocked to the extreme, Muttiah was prevailed upon by the Lankan management to continue playing although the 25-year-old was seen visibly fighting off the tears when he was heckled by the Australian crowd.<br /><br />Gentle as a mouse, Murali showed a rare fighting side of his spirit when he continued with his game and in fact his determination to succeed increased manifold after his action was called into question. He went on performing at his incisive best while this controversy raged around him. And as things stand, he was never banned from cricket for his bowling action.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Having made his Test debut in 1992 it took him five years to reach the 100-wickets mark in 1997 and within just one year in 1998 he powered on to his 200th wicket against England.<br /><br />His unforgettable facial expressions, at the point of delivering the ball, have etched Murali into the subconscious of every cricket fan around the world. It also goes on to show that Murali''s passion for demolishing the very spirit of batsmen is just as strong as it ever was. And it is players like him who have brought the viewing public to cricket with his amazing displays through the years.<br /><br />This passionate cricketer has performed outstandingly in his career spanning 14 years over which he has faced batsmen of great repute like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Matthew Hayden, Steve Waugh and others and emerged as an equal in terms of guile and incisiveness in flummoxing them with his deliveries.<br /><br />As the Lankan spearhead, alongside Vaas for so many years, Muttiah on occasion let the expectations of public get to him, making him remark uncharacteristically that other bowlers in the team should also contribute to the team effort. But he never showed that he was tired of carrying the bowling burden of the team on his shoulders. And it was in no small measure that his contributions led to Sri Lanka defying all odds to win the ODI World Cup in India in 1996.<br /><br />As he was drawing nearer to the world record his determination and quality-play led even the unrelenting Aussies, who had continued to hound him on his action, to mouth platitudes in his favour. These included the phenomenally successful Australian coach John Buchanan and recently Brett Lee, who had also faced charges of ''throwing'' by India early in his career, said that Muralitharan should be left alone now and that no more controversies against him should be raised.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal">Muralitharan has retained his splendid touch throughout his career despite having to compete against some of the world''s best bowlers. His career has run side-by-side with that of the other great spinner of our times, Shane Warne and on the day that he equalled the world record, Warne was just 2 wickets away from reaching the record himself. Warne had barely missed the record playing in a Test series against Lanka at home in 2004 on his return from one-year ban.<br /><br />Today, when every batsman playing top-class cricket has acquired technical excellence and sorted out all bowlers through the use of technological gadgets, Muttiah still holds the upper hand. But bowlers the world-over are increasingly succumbing to the onslaught they have been put under, as is shown by the current run of high scores chalked up by almost every team in Tests. <br /><br />Looking into what the future holds for this amazing and great cricketer, we can gauge from the current competition that he will not be able to ride gently into the sunset -- he will be hounded by his arch enemy Shane Warne continuously into the near future. But we expect nothing but excellence from Muttiah well in the long run and the prospect of good cricket will keep his numerous fans and the cricket-loving public clued into his performances.</div> </div>
