Muttiah Muralitharan may become test cricket’s all time leading wicket-taker as early as today, with the Sri Lankan off-spinner claiming three wickets as the home nation claws its way back into the first test against England in Kandy.
England is 175/4 during the middle session of the second day, a deficit of 13.
Murali has 3/26 off 19 overs, taking Murali to 707 test wickets, one behind Shane Warne.
England was seemingly cruising at 107/1, before Murali took control. Showing no ill-effects of his poor Australian series, Murali was unnervingly accurate, removing Michael Vaughan for 37. The England captain was judged out on a bat-pad appeal, perhaps incorrectly. Ian Bell(83) was Murali’s next victim, miscuing a drive that required a sharp catch by Chamara Silva at short mid-wicket.
The third wicket was Murali’s best. The off-spinner trapped the dangerous Kevin Pietersen with a deceptively quicker ball from around the wicket, pitching on middle stump and straightening.
With the Kandy wicket already turning wickedly for Murali, it almost seems a formality that the record will become his during this innings.
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