Muttiah Muralitharan retired from test cricket on final day of test match against India after taking his 800th wicket on 22 July 2010. He was born on 17 April 1972 always remembered as one of the greatest cricketer of all time.
Statstics of Muralitharan
| Mat | Inns | Wkts | Avg | Econ | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
| Tests | 133 | 230 | 800 | 22.72 | 2.47 | 45 | 67 | 22 |
| ODIs | 350 | 341 | 534 | 23.08 | 3.93 | 15 | 10 | 0 |
Test Match
| Debut Test | Venue | Date | Wkts | Result |
| AUS | Sri Lanka, Colombo | 28 Aug-02 Sep 1992 | 3 | Match Drawn |
| Last Test | Venue | Date | Wkts | Result |
| IND | Sri Lanka, Galle | 18-22 Jul 2010 | 8 | SL won by 10 wkts |
ODI
| Debut ODI | Venue | Date | Wkts | Result |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka, Colombo | 12-Aug-93 | 1 | SL won by 8 runs |
| Last ODI | Venue | Date | Wkts | Result |
| India | India, Mumbai | 02-Apr-11 | 0 | IND won by 6 wkts |
Muralitharan’s career was also remembered due to his controversial bowling action which was always analyzed by ICC on gap of different years. Due to an unusual hyperextension of his congenitally bent arm during delivery, his bowling action was called into question on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community. After biomechanical analysis under replicated playing conditions, Muralitharan’s action was cleared by the International Cricket Council, first in 1996 and again in 1999. Former Australian Test player Bruce Yardley, who himself was an off spinner in his day, was assigned with the task of ensuring Muralitharan bowled all his deliveries with the same vigour as he would do so in match conditions when tested in 2004. At this stage of his career Muralitharan had not initiated the doosra. The authenticity of his doosra came in notice in year 2004.
This delivery was found to go above the ICC elbow additional limit by 9 degrees i.e. 5 degrees being the limit for spinners at that time. Based on official studies into bowling actions, which revealed that 99% of bowlers whose actions were examined exceeded the elbow flexion limits, ICC revised the limits applying to all bowlers in 2005. The new limit of 15-degrees, one degree greater than Muralitharan was bowling his doosra, allowed him to continue without being called for throwing from then on.
In February 2009, after becoming cricket’s highest wicket-taker in both forms of the game Muttiah Muralitharan hinted that he might retire at the conclusion of the 2011 World Cup. He stated “I think I am fit in my body and mind, I am enjoying my cricket and want to play more. But after the next World Cup, I will have nothing left to achieve in the game. The World Cup should mark the end of my career.” Muralitharan announced his retirement from Test cricket after the first Test against India at Galle which commenced on 18 July 2010. During that match he captured 8 wickets and became the first to reach the milestone of taking 800 Test wickets by dismissing Pragyan Ojha
