Muralitharan
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP):
SRI LANKA offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan became the most prolific wicket-taker in Test cricket history when he dismissed Zimbabwe's Mluleki Nkala for his 520th victim yesterday.
Muralitharan took two for 37 to help Sri Lanka win the first Test by an innings and 240 runs inside three days at Harare Sports Club.
On Thursday, Muralitharan tied record-holding West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh, who retired in 2001, with 6-45 in the first innings.
It took until the last ball of his eighth over yesterday for Muralitharan to surpass Walsh, when Nkala prodded to Mahela Jayawardene at silly mid-off.
"I was quite nervous and tense out there. It took me quite a while to get it," Muralitharan said.
Muralitharan then caught and bowled Alester Maregwede with his first ball of his next over to sit on a hat-trick, but he left the field immediately after splitting his finger making the catch.
After returning to celebrate his team's victory in the first of two Tests, Muralitharan left the field through an archway of his teammates' bats.
Muralitharan said he was more concerned about winning than breaking records.
He thanked all the Sri Lanka players who have supported his efforts since his test debut in 1992.
Asked how many Test wickets he might eventually take, he said: "I don't know about that. I am now conscious of the 2007 World Cup and I want us to win that."
He brushed off comparisons to rival Shane Warne, who has 517 wickets and arrives with Australia in Zimbabwe later this month.
"Again I am more concerned for team success. Warne and I are good friends, so it is winning that's important for me"
Muralitharan's greatness has been undermined for years from accusations of being a 'chucker' because of a genetic defect which prevents him fully straightening his bowling arm.
He passed two referee reports of his bowling action by the International Cricket Council in the 1990s, but was reported again in March after the home Test series loss to Australia, notably over his new 'doosra' delivery.
An investigation by the University of Western Australia deemed the 'doosra' illegal and put Muralitharan on probation, meaning he could be banned if he's reported again in the next 12 months.
But the controversy has failed to dim Muralitharan's popularity in his homeland.
He helped Sri Lanka win the World Cup in 1996, and became the fastest and youngest bowler to take 350 (66 Tests), 400 (72) and 500 (87) wickets.
Muralitharan, who turned 32 last month, has claimed the wickets record in only 89 Tests, 43 fewer than Walsh, and at his present rate of almost six wickets per Test, he could easily raise the bar to 750 wickets.
HIGHEST TEST WICKET-TAKERS
| 521 | | Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri |
| | Lanka (89 matches) |
| 519 | | Courtney Walsh, West Indies |
| | (132) |
| 517 | | Shane Warne, Australia (110) |
| 434 | | Kapil Dev, India (131) |
| 431 | | Sir Richard Hadlee, |
| | New Zealand (86) |
| 430 | | Glenn McGrath, Australia (95) |
| 414 | | Wasim Akram, Pakistan (104) |
| 405 | | Curtly Ambrose, West Indies (98) |
| 397 | | Anil Kumble, India (84) |
| 383 | | Ian Botham, England (102) |
| 376 | | Malcolm Marshall, |
| | West Indies (81) |
| 373 | | Waqar Younis, Pakistan (87) |
| 362 | | Imran Khan, Pakistan (88) |
| 355 | | Dennis Lillee, Australia (70) |
| 339 | | Shaun Pollock, South Africa (83) |
| 330 | | Allan Donald, South Africa (72) |
| 325 | | Bob Willis, England (90) |
| 309 | | Lance Gibbs, West Indies (79) |
| 307 | | Fred Trueman, England (67) |
