World bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan was given a presidential send-off on Thursday after he retired with 800 wickets in the bag. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse flew in from the capital, Colombo, to the southern coastal town of Galle to briefly watch the first Test against India and presented Muralitharan a memento during the lunch break.
But Rajapakse had left by the time the off-spinner had last man Pragyan Ojha caught in the slips to achieve the landmark that terminated India's second innings in the post-lunch session of the final day. "I must thank His Excellency, the President, for taking time off to come and watch the match," Muralitharan said later. "I also need to thank my family and my team-mates, both past and present, without whose support I would not have achieved anything."
"I have spoken to the selectors and if they want me for the World Cup next year, I will be available," he said. Fireworks went off and the packed stands stood up to greet Sri Lanka's favourite cricketing son when the last wicket fell as team-mates rushed to congratulate Muralitharan. "Getting to 800 was not as important as winning the match," said Muralitharan. "By God's grace, both things happened which made it the greatest day of my life.
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