Magical Murali has done it! The accomplished spinner finally reached his target 800 wickets with the final wicket of the first Test match against India in Galle.

Murali’s 800^th victim was tail-ender Pragyan Ojha who was caught by Mahela Jayawardene at slip. Celebrations ensued and a magnificent and controversial Test career came to a dramatic close.

When the first Test began five days ago, the off-spinner required eight wickets over two innings to further cement his place in cricketing folklore. Precariously poised on 792 wickets, a good showing in the first innings was a necessity.

Sachin Tendulkar had no answer to his guile on Tuesday and was one of five victims and he went on take 5-63 as India had to follow on.

Murali, now 38, began his career in 1992 and little did we know then that the mystical spinner would have surpassed Shane Warne’s 708 wickets but he would go on to reach 800 in 133 Tests.

With his five wicket haul in the first, it left him with just three wickets to re write history.

He removed Yuvraj Singh with the last ball of the fourth day, and trapped fellow off-spinner Harbhajan Singh lbw early on day five. Wicket after wicket fell and Murali could see his chance evaporating. Malinga was on fire and he ended the innings with a wonderful five wicket haul.

With a supreme effort from Malinga at the other end time wasn’t a problem, the lack of wickets however were! With his 157^th Test catch, Jayawardene moved to his left and claimed Ojha’s wicket. Murali and his team mates celebrated, it heralded the end of an 18 year Test career.

Highlights

Test Matches: 800 wickets in 133 matches.

One Day Internationals: 515 wickets in 337 matches.

Twenty20 internationals: 13 wickets.

Murali - one wicket at a time

Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan reached 798 wickets on his farewell as India closed day four of the first Test 63 behind at 181-5 in their follow-on. BBC

Murali will relish attacking the tail when play resumes tomorrow with only Laxman and Dhoni left as recognised batsmen. With Murali playing in his final Test match Sangakkara will certainly ask the Sri Lankan legend to tie one end down as he looks to bag the final two wickets required to reach the magic 800 mark.

Virender Sehwag sealed his 20th Test century but Murali took his 67th five-wicket haul to dismiss India for 276.

Put in again, India lost Gautam Gambhir third ball and Sehwag for 31 but Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar put on 119.

Dravid (44) and Tendulkar (85) fell within two overs before Murali returned to oust Yuvraj Singh in the final over.

Muralitharan claimed 5-63 from 17 overs in India’s first innings and 1-57 when they followed on.

India’s second innings was rocked by the loss of openers before tea.

Gambhir departed in the first over for the second time in the match, caught behind off the rapid Lasith Malinga, while Sehwag was smartly taken in the gully having chased a wide one.

Record Test run-scorer Tendulkar mounted a recovery, however, in partnership with Dravid as they record their 18th century stand.

Tendulkar played with some freedom to chalk up his 55th Test fifty and skipped down the wicket to launch Muralitharan for a huge six over long-on.

Dravid’s patience might well have deserved a fifty, but the partnership came to an end when he was caught at leg gully attempting to flick Malinga.

And just 11 deliveries later, Malinga struck again, this time with the prized scalp of Tendulkar, trapped lbw by a wicked yorker just short of his 48th Test century.

Yuvraj became Muralitharan’s fifth victim of the day, caught at slip, leaving India with a veritable mountain to climb.

Muralitharan closes in on 800 as India struggle

Muttiah Muralitharan has explained his decision to retire from international cricket, saying there is “nothing left to achieve”. The Sri Lankan spinner announced he would be ending his 20-year Test cricket career in just over two weeks time on Tuesday.

Muralitharan, who has played 132 Tests and taken 792 wickets, will retire from the five-day format of the game after the first of three home Test matches to be played against India, which begins on 18 July. The 38-year-old said that age was an important factor. “It was not a very difficult [decision],” he said. “In fact, it was easy. I’m not getting any younger. You can’t play cricket for ever and ever. Anyway, I have achieved what I wanted to achieve.”

Muralitharan said that he had been pondering retirement for a while now.

“I was thinking about it for a long time. I thought ‘why not retire against India’ as they are the No 1 Test side.”

His career is not entirely over, though. “There is the Indian Premier League – I will also play county cricket in England. This will surely keep me busy,” he said.