Murali and Sachin: Gods of Cricket!

They say if cricket was a religion in India, Sachin Tendulkar is God. Then who is Muttiah Muralitharan to the Sri Lankans?

The world will stand still this Saturday; at its crossroads as Kumara Sangakara’s formidable Lankans will take on Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. But Sri Lankan cricket will be bracing itself for a new era, a ‘Post-Murali era’. An era without their wily spinner, an era without the man who is popularly known to the commentators as the ‘Smiling Assassin’. Sri Lankan cricket without Murali will be like Indian cricket without Sachin. His achievements with the ball, when compared to Sachin’s achievements with the bat seem just as remarkable and important to each nation’s quest of glory.

Two men capable of bringing their respective nations to a stand still single-handedly. Who will have the final say on Saturday?

It was in that very search of glory, that a young Murali inspired Sri Lanka to its maiden World Cup ‘Wills’ trophy back in ‘96, ranked underdogs against Australia. Even though that World Cup glory was a collective effort, since then Murali has come a long way. Not only has his CV been rewritten, so have the history books of cricket, from claiming Courtney Walsh’s record for most test wickets to being named the greatest test bowler by Wisden.

However, Muralitharan’s career hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Accusations, allegations and charges of illegal ‘chucking’ and ‘throwing’ have followed his career, so much so that he was filmed wearing a metal arm brace. They have not only blemished his CV but humiliated him in numerous ‘on-field’ incidents. Yet, Murali has come out strong and humble, and is the man we know today.

Muralitharan bows out with an impressive bowling average of 22.72 and 800 Test wickets, but of course there will be those fleeting appearances for the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. His heir-apparent at the moment though seems to be the obvious Ajatha Mendis, who burst on to the scene a couple of years ago, dramatically at that, for his famous ‘carrom’ ball. But as the legendary Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga was recently quoted saying, “Sri Lanka would be lucky if they found another Murali within the next century.”

And that would be the same in the case of the great Sachin Tendulkar himself. We wouldn’t be the only lucky ones, the entire cricketing fraternity would be. Every Indian has etched in his/her mind, a memory of Sachin, holding his helmet in one hand, raising his bat with the other, looking skywards to the heavens, when he scored the first double century in one-day internationals. Well, every Sri Lankan has etched in his/her mind, a memory of Murali claiming a wicket with his final international ball on home soil as he played through the pain barrier to help his side through to the World Cup final.

If Tendulkar doesn’t steal the headlines with a historic hundred on Saturday, in front of his beloved fans on his home-ground, in his final World Cup game, taking his tally to 100 international centuries (Test & ODI), who is to say Murali won’t be the hero, taking the winning wicket with his final international delivery.

So they say, if cricket was a religion in Sri Lanka, Muttiah Muralitharan is God. Well, they are Gods in their own rights, of course, to the people, to the fans. For cricket is a gentleman’s game after all, or is it now?