After the Galle Test match, Test cricket will no longer witness Muttiah Muralitharan's magical off-breaks that used to stun batsmen no end. Although a heartbreak for his fans, batsmen will no longer have to fear someone who regularly outwitted them.
Many believe it was his turn that fetched him wickets; in fact, it was his ability to lure the batsmen to commit mistakes that swelled his tally. This was one bowler whose style and tricks were under the scanner always by teams around the world trying to figure out ways to deal him. Though every batsman goes out to face him with a well tutored action plan, while at the crease he would upset their plans.
Instead of teams working hard to find a solution to face Muralitharan, they should have looked at improving their batsmen's batting technique. The slightest defect in a batsman was enough for Muralitharan to ensure his quick exit.
During the 2003 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in South Africa, I was fortunate to get to watch him closely at the nets in Johannesburg.
He kept uprooting the stumps of almost every batsman and coach Dav Whatmore, standing at the bowlers end, was heard telling his batsmen: "If you keep a bat and pad gap to Murali, rest assured your middle stump will be gone."
So the next time I got to interview this maverick bowler, I was curious to know how he was able to beat even the most perfect batsman?.
"All the adjustments that I do to my bowling are mental," was his simple remark.
Years back, a study conducted on picking the best batsmen in the world who have handled Muralitharan well revealed the names of Gautam Gambhir and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
This was mainly because they were both left-handed batsmen. But when it came to right handed batsmen, it was Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Pointing followed by two more left-handers Brian Lara and Chris Gayle.
Muralitharan was a master in his art, yet the amount of hard work he put in to keep sharpening his skills was enormous. After he broke all records as a bowler, I wanted to know what more he aimed for.
His response portrayed a typical and real Muralitharan, always down to earth like almost all Sri Lankan cricketers. "I will be happy, if after I retire, I am remembered as a good person who played very hard and brought success to my country," he said.
