Muralitharan spins Sri Lanka to historic victory

With the monsoon rains not forthcoming for the South Africans, the Galle test match came to a predictable but nevertheless historic conclusion. For the first time in the history of test cricket, Sri Lanka defeated South Africa. On a pitch that could not have suited Mutiah Muralitharan more, they won by an innings and 15 runs. Mutiah Muralitharan picking up a staggering 13 wickets for 171 runs.

South Africa and Sri Lanka have only played against each other in two three match test series: in Sri Lanka in 1993/4 and in South Africa in 1997/8. During that period South Africa have won 3 games but had not previously been beaten. In this game though they were thoroughly outplayed and this represents the Proteas heaviest defeat since losing by an innings and 21 runs to Australia in Sydney in 1997/8

This test series was always going to be harder than the 1993/4 tour. Primarily because Mutiah Muralitharan was just a young sapling back then. While he still turned the ball prodigiously, he lacked the beguiling variation, which has so confounded the South African batsmen in this match.

One doubts whether they have ever faced better spin bowling. He has developed his top spinner, a delivery that few batsmen can read, a mystery ball, that deviates away from the bastmen. In addition he subtly changes the line and length, varies the pace and even adjusts the degree of spin.

On a surface that has turned from the first day and further disintegrated since, no batsmen in the world could play him with certainty. Darryl Cullinan, who had played so brilliantly yesterday admitted as much: "A lot of the time it is a bit of a guessing game. He tries a lot of variations and is always changing his length and his line. He has got this top spinner at the moment, which he bowls a lot more. You need a lot of luck. Lets be honest I could have been out three or four times. But to bat against a bowler like Murali on a wicket like this you need that luck."

Speaking afterwards Muralitharan was typically modest: "I am really happy but the main things is that we got 522. When you have so many runs it makes it much easier to bowl. On a pitch like this you just have to make sure that you bowl line and length, be patient and build up the pressure."

With Gary Kirsten being so senselessly run out on the previous evening, few people expected South Africa to be able to bat out today, let alone Monday as well. During the first ten overs the batsmen, Darryl Cullinan (12) and Jacques Kallis (40), had appeared quite comfortable.

Inexplicably Jacques Kallis felt the need to sweep Upul Chandana from off stump, immediately after cutting the bowler for four, and offered Mutiah Muralitharan the simplest of catches at short fine leg. It precipitated a collapse, four wickets falling for 24 runs.

Muralitharan claimed the next three. In the very next over Darryl Cullinan popped up a bat pad catch, which was brilliantly caught by Russel Arnold diving forward at silly point. Lance Klusner (4) tried to cut and was well caught by Kumar Sangakkara and Mark Boucher (7) was adjudged LBW not playing a shot to the top-spinner to leave South Africaon 163 for 6.

Jonty Rhodes (63*), a man who had defied Muralitharan for an entire day in the first test match in 1993/4 and by doing so saved the series, came to the crease and played a bustling innings. Heavily reliant on the sweep shot he was also fleet footed and neutralised the spinners well by coming down the wicket.

He had put on 30 runs with his captain before South Africa suffered their second piece of bad luck. Shaun Pollock (12) given out bad pad when television replays showed that the bat had played no part. But this was not as bad as Peter Manuel's decision against Nico Boje (35).

Having valiantly resisted for over an hour, an eighth wicket partnership of 70 runs, he was wrongly adjudged LBW when no playing no shot to Muralitharan, the Umpire needing to guess as to whether the ball would have hit the stumps. It marked the end as Paul Adams (2) and Makhaya Ntini (0) were all at sea against Mutiah and were quickly bowled.

Whilst the focus inevitably fell to Mutiah Muralitharan in the aftermath, the fact remains that Sri Lankan batsmen scored 522 which ensired their dominance. The return to batting form has been nothing short of spectacular. After two woeful performances against Pakistan the top order, with the exception perhaps of Russel Arnold, is now full of confidence.

Sanath Jayasuriya spoke of the change in the dressing room: "After losing to Pakistan we all felt very down and were short of confidence but in Kandy we turned the corner and then gained a lot of confidence in the Singer triangular. We are now playing good cricket and really enjoying ourselves."

South Africa though clearly have problems. The post Hansie era was never going to be easy, but there is the suspicion that fighting spirit and mental hardness that has characterised South African cricket over the past last few years has been more severely eroded than previously imagined.