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Warne smashes Murali?s record
Shane Warne has swapped places with Muttiah Muralitharan to become world cricket's highest wicket-taker, reports Pradeep Magazine.
Shane Warne has swapped places with Muttiah Muralitharan to become world cricket's highest wicket-taker. Before the Test began, he was very excited and said, "I would have been happy had I got this opportunity to achieve this feat at home. But given the kind of popularity the game has in India, this is where I would have liked to achieve this feat outside of Australia."
There was no doubt that his wish would be granted, as he required only two more wickets to jump ahead of Muraliltharan before this Test began. There is also every possibility that Muralitharan may take back his record, but for the moment Warne is once again on top of the world.
When he managed to breach Irfan Pathan's defence to reach that magical number 533, his teammates raced to hug him and a near full-house give him a standing ovation. "It was a very exciting moment for me and I am thrilled,'' he told newsmen after the match. That excitement showed as he responded to the crowd's ovation by holding the ball in his raised hand (just like batsmen do, raising their bat to acknowledge the crowd's applause after achieving a landmark).
Warne is one of the greatest spinners the world has seen but he has never been able to come to terms with Indian conditions, and in the past has been badly pasted by the batsmen here.
