Team India in Galle played the part of exemplary in-laws to Muttiah Muralitharan to the hilt. They ensured that the spin legend’s last Test would be his most memorable and seemed to go out of their way to see that Chennai’s jamai raja (son-in-law) reached the magic figure of 800 Test wickets.
M.S. Dhoni’s men fell over each other to form a guard of honour on Tuesday when Murali came out to bat and as gestures go, it was a grand one for one of the greatest players to have ever graced international cricket. Unfortunately, this did not stop here and the Indian batsmen took it upon themselves to make the Test one of Murali’s most memorable. They sacrificed their wickets one after another to the “smiling assassin” and as the off-spinner’s smiles got broader and broader, viewers back home started feeling that they were watching a farce.
Murali, suffering from a bad knee, apparently picked the first Test as his only one in the series before retirement because he was not sure of carrying his bowling workload through a three-Test series. Having taken 97 wickets against India in 21 previous Tests, he might have been secure in the knowledge that eight in a Test was not beyond him, even if the last wicket came in a tantalising manner at the very end of the Indian second innings.
He did not have to worry. The Indians — fresh from their Asia Cup win — made sure that he got his eight and the only thing they left out was the wrapping paper for the present. It was a classic example of a cosy relationship taken too far.
Even if there are good reasons why the Indians consider Murali their good friend and virtually one of their own, there is something called professionalism and a player like Murali’s calibre definitely did not need “gifts” to prove his worth.
The Galle fiasco was uncalled for as Murali’s figures of 105 Test wickets against Indian batsmen — considered the best players of spin bowling — show. Had India been just another Test-playing team, their lackadaisical attitude during the Galle match might have been forgivable. But we are talking of the number one team in the world and they are not supposed to play like this, surrendering to Murali’s wiles in the first innings when the pitch was no different from the one on which the Sri Lankans had piled on the runs.
When he arrived in Colombo, Dhoni — who is also Murali’s skipper when they play in the IPL for the Chennai Super Kings — said he was determined not to join the party for Murali. “Good luck to Murali, but we are here to win,” Dhoni had said. “We all know Murali is a great bowler and his achievements speak for themselves. More important, he is also a great human being and I cherish his friendship. However, this is Test cricket and we do not intend to give away our wickets easily. Our batsmen would not like to give him the opportunity to reach 800 wickets during the Test.” The team’s on-field antics, however, did not reflect their captain’s words.
Murali’s wife, Madhimalar, is a Tamil from Chennai, he plays for Chennai Super Kings and is of Indian origin himself, though one has to go back generations to pinpoint his ancestors who had crossed the Palk Straits to the emerald isle. But if this theory holds true, India-Pakistan matches should then forever remain “friendlies” rather than be the fiercely competitive battles that they usually are.
Now that he will only play one-day internationals and T-20 matches, perhaps Murali’s romantic and emotional links with India will be complete if he tours here for the World Cup next year and bowls his team to victory over India in the final at Mumbai’s new Wankhade Stadium!