Muralitharan bags $10,000 for seven-wicket performance

Mutiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's magical spin bowler, received a welcome shock after collecting his man of the match award in the CBFS Stadium tonight.

The off-spinner was walking back to his team, when Michael Holding announced that the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) had just given him US$10,000 for his outstanding performance.

Muralithran returned the best ever bowling figures in the history of one-day international cricket tonight, picking up seven wickets for 30 runs in his allocated 10 overs. He took four in his first spell, including the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, the one man who could threaten Sri Lanka's massive 293.