Muralitharan takes blame for India’s dominating win over Sri Lanka
April 4th, 2011 - 12:30 pm ICT by ANI
London, Apr 4 (ANI): The highest wicket taker in one-day internationals and Tests, Muttiah Muralitharan, has blamed himself for India’s dominating win over Sri Lanka in last Saturday’s World Cup final in Mumbai, as he failed to take any wicket.
As India celebrated its six wicket win over Sri Lanka, the visiting team returned home to largely deserted streets and to pointed questions about playing Murali in a “sentimental farewell” when he was not fully fit.
Murali battled knee, hamstring and groin problems during the World Cup, and was never remotely near full fitness, The Guardian reports.
Muralitharan was not so lucky as other legend Sachin Tendulkar, who fulfilled his long dream of wining the World Cup.
Having quit Test cricket last year and announcing that he would quit all forms of the game after the World Cup, the spin wizard went wicketless in his 350th and final One-day International to finish with 534 wickets (he has 800 in Tests) during his 19-year international career.
Muralitharan said: “We got enough runs on the board - 274 was a good score - but we couldn’t crack their batting, especially in the middle part.
“The spinners didn’t take enough wickets, that was the main reason. If I or Suraj [Randiv] had taken a few wickets, the story would have been different.” (ANI)
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- Vaas, Randiv to cover for Muralitharan, Mathews - Mar 31, 2011
- Injured Muralitharan likely to miss World Cup semi-final against Black Caps - Mar 29, 2011
- Muralitharan racing against time to be fit for semifinal - Mar 28, 2011
- Muralitharan to play crucial role in Sri Lanka's CWG bid - Nov 04, 2011
- Muralitharan cheered by fans at his last ODI (Lead) - Apr 03, 2011
- Sangakkara asks his boys is keep it simple - Apr 01, 2011
- Australia will play Muralitharan with confidence: Julian - Mar 03, 2011
- Muralitharan, Mathews battling to be fit for final (Lead) - Mar 31, 2011
- Vaas, Randiv flying in as covers for Murali and Mathews (Second Lead) - Mar 31, 2011
- Injury worries for India, Sri Lanka ahead of final - Apr 01, 2011
- Muralitharan to play for Wellington next season - May 13, 2011
- Muralitharan to make a surprise farewell tour to Australia, play 2011 World Cup - Oct 01, 2010
- Tendulkar, Muralitharan raise the stakes - Mar 31, 2011
- Hope Murali continues his fairytale endings in Mumbai: Sangakkara - Mar 30, 2011
Tags: farewell, fitness, groin, guardian reports, India, international career, last saturday, london, mumbai, murali, one day internationals, score, spinners, sri lanka, tendulkar, test cricket, wicket taker, wickets, wizard, world cup