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Murali probably aiming for 800: Kumble
May 09, 2004 21:01 IST
Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan's world record-breaking feat for most Test wickets has gladdened the heart of Anil Kumble.
"It has been a great achievement for a bowler from Sri Lanka. He [Muralitharan] has been the mainstay for many years. It is good that a spinner has completed that [broken the world record]," Kumble told reporters in Bangalore on Sunday.
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Off-spinner Muralitharan took two wickets for 27 runs in the second innings of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Harare on Sunday to surpass the record of West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh, who took 519 wickets."I am sure he [Muralitharan] won't stop at this (521 wickets). He is probably aiming at 800 wickets," the 84-Test veteran said. "At the end of the day, it is important that it is one of the spinners who achieved that.
"I am happy for him. He is a good friend of mine, and I wish him all the best."
On the possibilities of an Indian breaking that record, he said: "It is a long way off. I am close to 400. But he is 521 and is still going strong."
The 33-year-old leggie is just three wickets away from becoming the first Indian spinner and only the second Indian after Kapil Dev (434) to reach 400 Test scalps.