Muttiah Muralitharan ends career with 800 Test wickets

Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan became the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets on the fifth day of the first Test against India on Thursday.

The 38-year-old Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in Tests and One-Day Internationals, dismissed Pragyan Ojha to reach the milestone in his final Test match appearance with his family watching from the stands.

Ojha, brilliantly caught by Mahela Jayawardene at first slip, was the final Indian wicket to fall in the second innings as the visitors made 338 in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat.

Muralitharan went into the final day of a 133-match Test career needing two wickets to achieve the milestone and took just 15 deliveries to trap fellow off-spinner Harbhajan Singh lbw for his 799th dismissal.

India survived until lunch and more than an hour of the afternoon session before Muralitharan dismissed Ojha in his 45th over as the home side gave themselves a winning target of 95 to claim the first Test of the three-match series.