Murali rides into the sunset

GALLE: One of the finest but most controversial spinners of his generation, Sri Lankan veteran Muttiah Muralitharan bid an emotional goodbye to his 18-year-old Test career on Thursday with an unprecedented tally of 800 wickets.

The 38-year-old bowler got the perfect send off by guiding the Lankans to a 10-wicket victory over India in a match where he firmly etched his name in the pages of cricketing history by taking the required eight wickets to reach the 800-wicket mark.

Image: Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara, center front, and teammates Prasad Dhammika, left, and Chanaka Welagedera, right, along with others carry their bowler Muttiah Muralitharan at the end of the first test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, July 22, 2010. Muralitharan ended a glorious test career Thursday becoming the first bowler to take 800 test wickets as Sri Lanka trounced India by 10 wickets in the first test.

Images: AFP & REUTERS

Text: PTI