Sri Lanka crushes India to take Test series lead

Sri Lanka beat India by 10 wickets to take a 1-O lead in the three-match Test series in Sri Lanka's southern port town of Galle.

Muttiah Muralitharan playing in his last match took the last Indian wicket in the second innings to leave Sri Lanka just 95 runs to win on the last day of the match Thursday.

Muralitharan had the Indian last man Pragyan Ojha caught by Mahela Jayawardene to end the Indian second innings at 338.

Sri Lanka knocked off the required runs without losing a wicket. Opener T. M. Dilshan finished 68 and his partner Tharanga Paranavithana on 23.

India resuming the last day at 5 for 181 soon lost the captain M. S. Dhoni for 4, Harbhajan Singh for 8.

Tail ender Abhimanyu Mithun added 49 with V. V. S. Laxman who was run out for a fighting 69.

The last pair of Ojha and Ishant Sharma added 24 for the last wicket raising some concern in the Sri Lankan camp.

The lead was nearing 100 when Murali struck for the last time with his 800th wicket.

His achievement caused celebration throughout the island.

"I played for 19 years. There are several young bowlers on the sidelines. I decided the time was opportune for me to leave," Muralitharan told reporters of his achievement.

Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga who took 5 wickets in the second innings was declared man-of-the-match.

The second Test begins at the S. S. C. ground in Colombo next Monday.

Source: Xinhua