The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Murali resumes quest to overtake Warne

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Murali resumes quest to overtake Warne

CRICKET / Ashraful has modest ambitions for the Test series

COLOMBO: Muttiah Muralitharan resumes his quest to finish as Test cricket’s most successful bowler when Sri Lanka takes on Bangladesh in a three-match series starting on Monday.

The prolific off-spinner, with 674 wickets from 110 Tests, is only 35 scalps away from surpassing the World record tally of 708 wickets by retired Australian spin wizard Shane Warne.

A rich haul against Bangladesh, against which Muralitharan has grabbed an incredible 50 wickets in six Tests, will leave the 35-year-old well-placed to overtake Warne in the home series against England in December.

Daunting task

Bangladesh, the lowest ranked Test nation, faces the daunting task of having to first deal with Sri Lanka’s pace duo of the seasoned Chaminda Vaas and fiery Lasith Malinga before Muralitharan takes over.

The Sri Lankans have crushed the hapless Bangladeshis in the seven previous Tests between the two sides, winning four of them in fewer than three days and the remaining three early on the fourth morning.

Bangladesh’s new captain Mohammad Ashraful, aged 22, has modest ambitions as he prepares his young team for the first Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club here.

“We are not looking to win but put up a good show,” said Ashraful. “The key is to bat well and stretch the Sri Lankans. No one wants to lose in three or four days.”

Key player

Bangladesh’s hopes of providing a good fight rests on Ashraful, whose 114 on debut against Sri Lanka in 2001, just past his 16th birthday, made him Test cricket’s youngest centurion.

The exciting strokemaker has gallantly stood up to the Lankans in the past, scoring 475 runs in seven matches with two hundreds and a half-century at an average of 39.58.

Bangladesh, which made its maiden appearance in the second round of the World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year, is still finding its feet in Test cricket.

It has lost 40 of its 46 matches since being granted Test status in 2000, with five draws and a lone victory over a struggling Zimbabwe in 2005.

Makeshift opening pair

Sri Lanka is beset with problems of its own after being forced to look for a makeshift opening batting pair.

With veteran Sanath Jayasuriya rested and former captain Marvan Atapattu opting out for personal reasons, the host suffered a blow when Upul Tharanga broke a toe in his right foot when hit by a ball from Malinga during practice. — AFP

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