Australia's second innings declaration ensured Muttiah Muralitharan's quest to claim Shane Warne's Test wicket-taking record will not end in Australia.
HOBART: Australia's second innings declaration on Monday ensured Muttiah Muralitharan's quest to claim Shane Warne's Test wicket-taking record will not end in Australia.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting set Sri Lanka an improbable 507 runs to win the second Test in Hobart and square the two-match series after declaring his team's second innings at 210 for two before lunch on Monday's fourth day.
Before the series Ponting expressed a desire for the freakish off-spinner to leave Australia without Warne's Test record of 708 wickets.
Muralitharan will now chase the five wickets he needs to pass Warne's haul in this month's home Test series against England.
It has been a exasperating series for Muralitharan, mauled by the Australian batsmen and receiving minimal support from his bowling teammates.
In his three bowling innings of the series the 35-year-old contortionist spinner took 2-170, 1-140 and 1-90, leaving him with 4-400 at a profligate cost of 100 runs a wicket.
That contrasts with his 115-Test career bowling average of 21.77.
"In Brisbane I thought I bowled well but the batsmen play well. Sometimes it happens. You can't do much else but put it in the right places. Some days it works. That's the way a career goes," Muralitharan said.
Muralitharan has had little support from his fellow bowlers during the series.
Paceman Farveez Maharoof only bowled 23 overs and then sat out the remainder of the second Test with an ankle injury, while the other pacemen, Dilhara Fernando, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga made little impression in the two Tests.
The Australians amassed a total of 1,303 runs for the loss of 11 wickets in the two Tests, 118 runs per wicket.
In Australia, Muralitharan has claimed 12 wickets overall for 905 runs in his five Tests at 75.42.
"We played him very well," Ponting said after the first Test.
"I knew that if we played him well that we would go a long way to having our noses in front right the way through the series."
After Muralitharan's 1-140 in the first innings in Hobart, his captain Mahela Jayawardene spoke up for his star bowler.
"It is a tough place to come here and perform, everyone knows that. Australia have been the number one team for the last 10 years," he said.
"When you come here, you challenge yourself. Murali has found it difficult to pick wickets up purely because these guys are playing good cricket and they do play him pretty well. But Murali has taken 700 wickets."
"It doesn't matter where he takes those wickets, that fact remains, so the due recognition for him will be given."
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