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Home  » Cricket » Murali's magical 500

Murali's magical 500

By Rajneesh Gupta
March 17, 2004 18:06 IST
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Ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan bagged his 500th Test wicket by claiming the scalp of Michael Kasprowicz on the opening day of the second Test against Australia in Kandy.

Muralitharan became only the third bowler in Test history to achieve this landmark after West Indian Courtney Walsh and Australia's Shane Warne (who did so in the first Test of the current series in Galle).

Murali is the fastest among the three members of 500-wicket club.

Walsh needed as many as 129 Tests for his 500 wickets, while Warne achieved the feat while playing in his 108th Test. Murali's 500th wicket came in his only 87th Test. Incredible indeed!

While Murali's performance in away matches is quite impressive, his performance at home is mind-blowing. He has taken 176 wickets in 36 away matches at an average of 4.88 wickets.

In home matches, he has 324 wickets in 51 Tests at an average of 6.35 wickets per match with 28 five-wicket innings hauls and 10 ten-wicket match hauls!

No wonder Steve Waugh called him the 'Don Bradman' of bowling.

A statistical review of Murali's performance in Test cricket:

Performance in each series:

Opponent Season M Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Ave Best 5WI 10WM SR RpO
Australia 1992-93 2 439 12 225 4 56.25 2-109 - - 109.75 3.08
New Zealand 1992-93 1 313 9 156 7 22.29 4-134 - - 44.71 2.99
England 1992-93 1 366 15 173 5 34.60 4-118 - - 73.20 2.84
India 1993-94 2 283 12 136 4 34.00 4-136 - - 70.75 2.88
South Africa 1993-94 3 1045 47 356 16 22.25 5-101 2 - 65.31 2.04
West Indies 1993-94 1 95 4 47 4 11.75 4-47 - - 23.75 2.97
India* 1993-94 3 860 20 420 12 35.00 5-162 1 - 71.67 2.93
Pakistan 1994-95 1 282 6 165 1 165.00 1-123 - - 282.00 3.51
Zimbabwe* 1994-95 2 522 28 168 3 56.00 2-60 - - 174.00 1.93
New Zealand* 1994-95 2 516 35 141 7 20.14 5-64 1 - 73.71 1.64
Pakistan* 1995-96 3 826 27 410 15 27.33 5-68 1 - 55.07 2.98
Australia* 1995-96 2 552 10 348 3 116.00 2-224 - - 184.00 3.78
Zimbabwe 1996-97 2 633 27 195 14 13.93 5-33 1 - 45.21 1.85
New Zealand* 1996-97 2 486 17 241 6 40.17 3-43 - - 81.00 2.98
Pakistan 1996-97 1 318 19 98 6 16.33 6-98 1 - 53.00 1.85
West Indies* 1996-97 2 588 32 247 16 15.44 5-34 2 - 36.75 2.52
India 1997-98 2 888 31 369 9 41.00 4-99 - - 98.67 2.49
India* 1997-98 2 726 38 311 3 103.67 3-174 - - 242.00 2.57
Zimbabwe 1997-98 2 851 49 262 17 15.41 7-94 2 1 50.06 1.85
South Africa* 1997-98 2 839 30 400 16 25.00 5-63 1 - 52.44 2.86
New Zealand 1997-98 3 930 41 374 19 19.68 5-30 2 - 48.95 2.41
England* 1998 1 683 41 220 16 13.75 9-65 2 1 42.69 1.93
Australia 1999-00 3 847 24 349 15 23.27 5-71 1 - 56.47 2.47
Zimbabwe* 1999-00 3 995 50 329 9 36.56 3-44 - - 110.56 1.98
Pakistan* 1999-00 3 1279 50 516 26 19.85 6-71 1 1 49.19 2.42
Pakistan 1999-00 3 684 28 306 12 25.50 5-115 1 - 57.00 2.68
South Africa 2000-01 3 1366 52 480 26 18.46 7-84 3 1 52.54 2.11
South Africa* 2000-01 2 669 28 260 12 21.67 6-39 2 1 55.75 2.33
England 2000-01 3 1416 66 421 14 30.07 4-66 - - 101.14 1.78
India 2001-02 3 1065 51 444 23 19.30 8-87 2 1 46.30 2.50
Bangladesh 2001-02 1 271 10 111 10 11.10 5-13 2 1 27.10 2.46
West Indies 2001-02 3 1306 53 536 24 22.33 6-81 3 2 54.42 2.46
Zimbabwe 2001-02 3 1219 84 294 30 9.80 9-51 2 1 40.63 1.45
Pakistan* 2001-02 1 354 17 127 8 15.88 4-55 - - 44.25 2.15
England* 2002 2 756 32 297 8 37.13 5-143 1 - 94.50 2.36
Bangladesh 2002-03 1 268 12 98 10 9.80 5-39 2 1 26.80 2.19
South Africa* 2002-03 2 611 19 251 7 35.86 3-83 - - 87.29 2.46
New Zealand 2002-03 2 971 59 320 13 24.62 5-49 1 - 74.69 1.98
West Indies* 2003-04 2 460 14 209 9 23.22 5-138 1 - 51.11 2.73
England 2003-04 3 1390 109 320 26 12.31 7-46 1 1 53.46 1.38
Australia 2003-04 2 555 18 260 15 17.33 6-59 2 1 37.00 2.81
- TOTAL 87 29523 1326 11390 500 22.78 9-51 41 13 59.05 2.31

(* away series)

Performance against each country:

Opponent Tests Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Best 5WI 10WM Ave SR RpO
Australia 9 2393 64 1182 37 6-59 3 1 31.95 64.68 2.96
Bangladesh 2 539 22 209 20 5-13 4 2 10.45 26.95 2.33
England 10 4611 263 1431 69 9-65 4 2 20.74 66.83 1.86
India 12 3822 152 1680 51 8-87 3 1 32.94 74.94 2.64
New Zealand 10 3216 161 1232 52 5-30 4 0 23.69 61.85 2.30
Pakistan 12 3743 147 1622 68 6-71 4 1 23.85 55.04 2.60
South Africa 12 4530 176 1747 77 7-84 8 2 22.69 58.83 2.31
West Indies 8 2449 103 1039 53 6-81 6 2 19.60 46.21 2.55
Zimbabwe 12 4220 238 1248 73 9-51 5 2 17.10 57.81 1.77
TOTAL 87 29523 1326 11390 500 9-51 41 13 22.78 59.05 2.31
At Home 51 17801 838 6495 324 9-51 28 10 20.04 54.94 2.19
Abroad 36 11722 488 4895 176 9-65 13 3 27.81 66.60 2.50

Mode of dismissals:

Mode Home Away Total %
Bowled 85 37 122 24.40
Caught in the field 139 84 223 44.60
Caught behind 20 7 27 5.40
Caught & bowled 13 7 20 4.00
Stumped 17 10 27 5.40
LBW 50 30 80 16.00
Hit-wicket 0 1 1 0.20
TOTAL 324 176 500

Murali's bunnies:

Batsman Country Dismissed
GW Flower Zimbabwe 10
Waqar Younis Pakistan 9
MV Boucher South Africa 9
Yousuf Youhana Pakistan 8
DJ Cullinan South Africa 7
GP Thorpe England 7
JN Rhodes South Africa 6
MN Samuels West Indies 6

Note: All statistics updated upto the first day of  the second Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Kandy.
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Rajneesh Gupta

India In Australia 2024-2025