Sleepy little Naren, huddled in his mother Madhi's arms, simply gazed at his father - spin legend Muthaiah Muralitharan - as the 35-year-old broke the world record.
KANDY: Sleepy little Naren, huddled in his mother Madhi's arms, simply gazed at his father - spin legend Muthaiah Muralitharan - as the 35-year-old broke the world record for the highest number of Test wickets here on Monday.
Muralitharan reached the milestone of 709 wickets in his 116th Test, 29 less than previous record-holder Shane Warne, with an average of 21.70 compared to the Australian's 25.41.
Muralitharan was glad that the record-breaking wicket had come on home soil, rather than on the recent tour to Australia.
"It is the right timing," he said. "It's my home town, my parents are here, my wife is here, all the relatives are here and all my school friends.
"Everybody is here. It's a bigger moment than if I had taken it in Australia. It's the right time I think. It's not easy to take six wickets in an innings," the off-spinner said.
The stadium came alive when the record was broken with Muralitharan being given a thunderous applause from his school and college friends who had converged at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy, about 115 kms from Colombo.
He was again the scourge for opposition batsmen and his figures at the end of England's innings read 35 overs, 14 maidens, six wickets for 55 runs.
On asked about the delivery that got him the 709th wicket of Paul Collingwood, Muralitharan said "It was not meant that way because I tried to spin the ball and it didn't spin."
Asked about the highlight of his Test career, he replied: "It was in England when I took 16 wickets at the Oval (in 1998) because it made people think that I was a good bowler and one who could take wickets overseas as well as at home."
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