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Journalism of Courage
Legendary bowlers Shane Warne and Wasim Akram feel no bowler can come close to Muttiah Muralitharan8217;s amazing achievement of 800 Test wickets and that his record will remain unbeaten.
Muralitharan,the Sri Lanka spin legend,bid adieu to the game heer today in a fantastic fashion as he took eight wickets in the first Test against India to go into the history books as first bowler to take 800-wickets.
Writing on social networking site Twitter,Warne tweeted,8221;Congrats to Murali on his 800th wicket and a wonderful career !!! Well done buddy awesome.8221;
8220;I don8217;t think anyone will get there,so well done to Murali for getting his 800,8221; Warne,the leg-spin legend,told sky sports.
8220;The way he has gone about it has been amazing. There8217;s been a lot of controversy about his action but at the end of the day the ICC cleared him,he8217;s allowed to play,and what he did with the ball was amazing,8221; the retired Australian added.
Pakistani pace legend Akram said world cricket will not see another Muralitharan
8220;Murali is something phenomenal. Words are not enough to explain how exceptional he is. I don8217;t think anyone will even come close to taking 800 wickets. The number not only highlights the man8217;s exceptional skills,it reflects the passion and discipline of a great sportsman.
8220;I have never seen a bowler like him before and don8217;t think I will ever see another in the future as well,8221; Akram said.
Warne also re-lived his fierce competition with Muarlitharan when both of them chased the world record. 8220;We always kept an eye on each other. There was a lot to like about Murali,he always had a smile on his face and he always seemed to be enjoying his cricket. I admired him from a distance and when we played against each other we always tried to outdo each other,8221; Warne said.
South African skipper Greame Smith joined the former cricketers to praise Murali for his astonishing achievement.
8220;Murali 800 test wickets!!!!brilliant. Great test career and a really good man,8221; Smith wrote on his twitter page.
8220;Glad I don8217;t need to face him in test cricket again:8221;,8221; he tweeted next.
Muralitharan came into the Test against India looking for eight wickets to reach the magical 800-mark. He scalped five wickets in India8217;s first innings and accounted for three more in the second innings.
Warne 708 and India8217;s Anil Kumble 619,both retired,are the second and third leading wicket takers in Test matches.
