Murali falls short of a haul of fame
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Your support makes all the difference.Sri Lanka's Muttiah Murali-tharan narrowly failed to reap the best bowling figures in the history of Test cricket in the Second Test against Zimbabwe at Kandy yesterday. He was also found to have sustained ligament damage around the joint of his ring finger, an injury which require surgery at the end of the series.
But it was the tourists who were in agony as Sanath Jayasuriya blazed away for 139 and his side reached 334 for 4 at the end of day two, 98 runs ahead. Sri Lanka are already 1-0 up in the three-Test series.
Muralitharan, who injured himself attempting a diving catch on the boundary off the last ball of the first day's play, had taken 9 for 51 to threaten fellow off-spinner Jim Laker's record of 10 for 53 for England against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956 – Laker also took 9 for 37 in the first innings. His lbw appeal was turned down off the fifth ball of the day, and the left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas then wrapped up the innings in the next over, leaving Zimbabwe all out for 236 and Murali with the fifth best Test figures of all time.
He also took 9 for 65 at The Oval in 1998, and admitted: "I would rate my Oval perform-ance against England ahead of this one because England were a much stronger team and I didn't have the support of my home crowd." Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble is the only other bowler apart from Laker to take a perfect 10, for 74 runs versus Pakistan in Delhi in 1999. In 1896, the England seamer George Lohmann took 9 for 28 against South Africa at the Old Wanderers.
Jayasuriya hit his ninth Test century off 155 balls and hit 17 fours and one six before being caught at square leg sweeping Grant Flower's left-arm spin. The captain and Kumar Sangakkara had put on 71 for the second wicket but the latter tried to pull a short ball from Friend, lost his balance and, in an effort to stop the ball from hitting his stumps, he dislodged a bail with his pad and was out hit-wicket for 42.
Mahela Jayawardene added 120 with his skipper before he was lbw for 56, trying to pull a straight ball from Flower. The visitors were left to rue a chance they dropped when Jayasuriya had made 60. Russel Arnold then made 44 not out while Hashan Tillekaratne was unbeaten on 35 to leave the hosts in complete control.
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