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On this day, 14 years ago, Muttiah Muralitharan played the final Test match of his career against India in Galle. The legendary spinner also became the first bowler in the history to claim 800 wickets in the longest format of the game.
Batting first, Sri Lanka declared on a mammoth total of 520/8, with centuries from Tharanga Paranavitana and captain Kumar Sangakkara. Abhimanyu Mithun was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors with four scalps.
Thereafter, Virender Sehwag (109) top-scored for India, as they were dismissed for only 276. Muralitharan was the most successful bowler with a five-fer. After being enforced a follow-on, the Indian team could not pose a strong challenge as they were bundled out for 33 and set up a paltry target of 95 for the hosts.
Lasith Malinga finished with impressive figures of 5/50. Interestingly, Muttiah Muralitharan took three scalps, with his 800th wicket being Pragyan Ojha.
Then, Tillakaratne Dilshan (68* off 47) stole the show with his quickfire knock as Sri Lanka cruised to a 10-wicket victory.
On that note, let's take a look at what the Sri Lankan playing XI are up to 14 years since this game.
Top-order: Tharanga Paranavitana, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (c)
Tharanga Paranavitana was the top-scorer for the team in this game, with contributions of 111 and 23*. He continued to play for the national side until 2012, with his last appearance in first-class cricket coming in 2020.
Flamboyant batter Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 25 off 24 in the first innings, while slamming 68* off 47 in the second. Dilshan's last international appearance for Sri Lanka came in 2016. He participated in Legends League Cricket in December 2023.
Kumar Sangakkara led the Sri Lankan team in this game, while scoring 103 off 145 in the first innings, with 12 fours. Currently, he is the Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals and also serves as an analyst/commentator for various broadcasting companies.
Middle-order: Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk)
Mahela Jayawardene garnered 48 off 78 in the first innings with six fours in this game. Currently, Jayawardene is the global head of performance at Mumbai Indians and their associated franchises. In the past, he served as the Southern Brave head coach and a consultant to the Sri Lankan national team.
Thilan Samaraweera was out for a duck in this game. However, he finished his Test career with an average of around 48 in 2013. Then, he worked as a batting coach for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and was also a part of the New Zealand coaching staff in 2021. Samaraweera also worked as a fielding coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018.
Angelo Mathews contributed 41 off 58 in the first innings and went wicketless in a total of 12 overs bowled in the game. He was recently a part of the 2024 T20 World Cup and is currently playing in the Lanka Premier League.
Prasanna Jayawardene played as a wicket-keeper in this game, scoring 27 and effecting a total of two dismissals. He last played competitive cricket in April 2015.
Bowlers: Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chanaka Welegedara
Rangana Herath managed to pick up a solitary wicket in the entire game. However, the talented spinner finished with a tally of 433 scalps in 93 Test matches and last played for the national team in 2018. Then, he worked as a spin bowling consultant of the Bangladesh national cricket team. Herath was a part of the Sri Lankan side, which emerged as a runner-up in the Road Safety World Series 2021.
Lasith Malinga scalped a total of seven wickets in the game, including a five-fer in the second innings. However, the same series saw Malinga make his last Test appearance, but he continued to play in the white-ball formats until 2020. Recently, he worked as a bowling coach for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024.
Muttiah Muralitharan took a total of eight wickets in this game in a fitting farewell to his spectacular Test career. The greatest-ever Test bowler finished with 800 wickets including 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 10-wicket hauls. Currently, Muralitharan is the spin-bowling coach of SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Chanaka Welegedara finished the game with a total of two wickets. He last played for the national team in 2014, with his last domestic appearance coming in 2015. Then, he moved to Australia and played for the Victorian Cricket team Westmeadows, and coached them later.
