MURALI "SPIN WIZARD"

He was born on 17th April, 1972 at Kandy in Sri Lanka. Also known as the "Smiling Assassin", he has continuously improved his game and gained popularity with each passing day.
he was statistically rated as the greatest Test match bowler ever  by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002.







He is Test cricket's highest wicket-taker, having overtaken the previous record-holder Shane Warne on December 3, 2007, and is also second in the list of wicket-takers in One Day Internationals. Averaging over six wickets per Test, Muttiah Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in the game, the greatest player in Sri Lanka's history. His strike rate of
6 wickets per match is also phenomenal. Since then, he has just kept on improving. His career statistics speak for themselves and deserve total credit. Despite all the controversies surrounding him over the years, he has stood bravely in the face of those controversies and showed the world that he is a man of character.



Test wicket milestones:

1st Craig McDermott lbw 9 vs Australia

100th Stephen Fleming bowled 59 vs New Zealand

200th Dominic Cork caught Romesh Kaluwitharana 8 vs England

300th Shaun Pollock caught Tillakaratne Dilshan 11 vs South Africa

400th Henry Olonga bowled 0 vs Zimbabwe

500th Michael Kasprowicz bowled 0 vs Australia

600th Khaled Mashud caught Lasith Malinga 6 vs Bangladesh

700th Syed Rasel caught Farveez Maharoof 4 vs Bangladesh




With 20 ten-wicket hauls in Tests, he is clearly the leader in that category, with the second-placed Warne having managed only half that number. In fact, Murali has taken a ten-for at least once against every opposition that he has played against. His 60 five-wicket hauls is a record as well.
   



He bowls marathon spells, yet is forever on the attack. From a loose-limbed, open-chested action, his chief weapons are the big-spinning offbreak and two versions of the top-spinner, one of which goes straight on and the other, which has now been labelled his doosra, which spins in the opposite direction to his stock ball. His newest variation is a version of Shane Warne's slider, which is flicked out the side of his hand and rushes onto batsmen like a flipper. His super-flexible wrist makes him especially potent and guarantees him turn on any surface.