Muralitharan cheered by fans at his last ODI

Mumbai: It was not the fairytale ending that legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan would have hoped for in his swansong international match, but the prolific wicket-taker got a huge round of applause from the packed Wankhede Stadium as the World Cup final ended here on Saturday.

The 38-year-old Muralitharan, who has played the tournament through a pain barrier, turned out for the match despite carrying niggles. When he came onto bowl in the 19th over the whole stadium, that had plunged into pin-drop silence following the dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar (18) in the seventh over, cheered for another legend.

The Wankhede and the cricketing world eagerly waited for the last duel between the two legends, but Lasith Malinga ensured it was not to be by removing Tendulkar, caught behind by skipper Kumar Sangakkara.

India in carnival mode

Muralitharan went about his job meticulously in the same manner that he has been doing for Sri Lanka since making his ODI debut against India in 1993, a year after he made his Test debut against Australia.

Even 349 ODIs later, Muralitharan's hunger for wickets is far from satiated.

When he retired from Test cricket last year, Muralitharan reached the magical figure of a record 800 wickets in his last Test against India at Galle.

He also ended up with a wicket in his last ball on home turf when he dismissed New Zealand's Scott Styis in Tuesday's World Cup semifinal.

On Saturday, he was staring at another record against. He was just three wickets shy of equaling Australian fast bowling legend Glenn McGrath's 71 World Cup wickets.

But he went wicket-less and finished with 534 ODI wickets. But still, his teammates carried him on their shoulders at the Wankhede after the match, as was the other legend, Tendulkar, honoured by the victorious Indian team.

An emotional Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara sought to defend him, saying even a half-fit Murali is a champion bowler.

Asked if the spinner was match fit, Sangakkara said: 'I don't think it was a huge issue. He is our best bowler even half-fit. He had a few injuries. He was almost at full fitness when he played today. Murali is our best bowler when it comes to spin, and you need to have him on the park. He was trying to bowl well and the dew came in quiet late.'

Proudest moment of my life, says Tendulkar

Muralitharan was playing in his fifth World Cup. He didn't play a big role in 1996 when Sri Lanka won their maiden World Cup and remained anonymous in their disastrous World Cup campaign in 1999. He bagged 17 wickets four years later to guide the island nation to the semifinals in 2003.

Muralitharan's best came four years ago when he bagged 23 wickets to take Sri Lanka to the final of the 2007 World Cup where they lost to Australia. This time he bagged 15 wickets from nine matches, not enough to take Sri Lanka to their second World Cup triumph.