Murali scales peak 800

Muttiah Muralidharan,the smiling assassin scalped eight wickets in his last test match and conquered the unimaginable and magic figure of 800 test wickets. 67 five wicket haul in an innings, 22 ten wicket haul in a match- can it be anything other than magical? Few people in test cricket would have undergone the trauma that Murali underwent when he was called for "chucking" in Australia. With his captain Arjuna Ranatunga and the Sri Lankan cricket Board backing him to the hilt, he came through unscathed. He even underwent the scrutiny of his action through scientific study and the ICC Technical committee cleared him.

Even under normal circumstances, this record of 800 wickets would be well nigh impossible to surpass. However, with the capsuled versions of the game gaining ground, one can say with conviction that this test record will stand the test of time like the record of Bradman's batting average of 99.94. Coupled with his record in one day cricket as the highest wicket taker, he has truly attained the status of a legend who becomes incomparable.

With all his achievements, Murali is still such an unassuming person. Like Tendulkar, Federer and Vishwanathan Anand, Murali joins those selected category of people who believe that the pinnacle of glory can go hand in hand with humility. That by itself is as great an achievement as his world record number of wickets.

The world will always remember Murali and till cricket stays, Murali will always adorn the record books.