Muttiah Muralitharan has not done anything noteworthy in the series so far but Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not ruling out a possible retribution from the champion off-spinner.
The India skipper has cautioned his batsmen that the spin wizard could be back to his best if he gets any assistance from the pitch. Murali has managed only five wickets from two Tests, with a best of 3-97.
“I think he has not got much assistance from the wicket and the batsmen have also played him well. They have been playing him for a long time. Our middle-order and even our openers have faced Murali a lot,” Dhoni said on the eve of the third and final Test here.
Dhoni has no doubts that the zing is still there in Murali’s bowling. “It is not that he has lost anything. He is still a very good bowler and on this track you will see the spinners coming into action. He is always a dangerous candidate to deal with.”
Kumar Sangakkara has pinned all hopes on Murali to win the third Test. “Murali has done so much for Sri Lanka. Sometimes every player has an off-day. That’s how cricket goes. It doesn’t mean he is any worse a bowler. He is still our best spinner,” the Lanka skipper asserted.
“Murali is still the spearhead... and we are backing him 100 per cent to turn it around for us.”
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