At the start of his final Test, he was eight wickets short of entering territory that no other cricketer had. He began his last day in Test cricket needing two, and took one. His partner threatened to take everything else and he could do nothing but keep on bowling, and wait. The umpire denied him a palpable lbw. VVS Laxman, who kept him at bay for so many hours, ran himself out and there was only one wicket left to take. He waited and perhaps even fretted. He nearly ran out the last pair himself, twice. After 23 wicketless overs, with perhaps growing doubt about whether it would come at all, the moment arrived, and Muttiah Muralitharan was there, where no man had gone before. The long wait for the 800th wicket only exemplified the toil that went into his preceding 799.
Muttiah Muralitharan carries his son Naren
Muttiah Muralitharan poses with his wife Madhimalar
Yuvraj Singh and the Indian players line up to congratulate Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka v India, 1st Test, Galle, 5th day, July 22, 2010
Muttiah Muralitharan salutes the crowd with the ball that fetched him his 800th wicket
Muttiah Muralitharan is carried off the field by Kumar Sangakkara and Dammika Prasad
Muttiah Muralitharan walks down a red carpet into the field for his last day of Test cricket
Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapakse shakes hands with Muttiah Muralitharan during the lunch interval
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