President presents memento to Murali

S. M. Jiffrey ABDEEN, Kandy sports corr.

KANDY: President Mahinda Rajapaksa presented Sri Lanka’s star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with a memento for reaching 700 test wickets at a special banquet to the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cricket teams and the officials of the Kandy District Cricket Association at a function held at the President’s House in Kandy on Saturday night.

Central Province Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa said Muralitharan has brought honour not only to the home town but also to the entire country with his bowling and he is not far away from setting up a world record and become the highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket.

This is a great achievement and a great honour to the country and to a nation which entered the test arena only about 25 years ago, he said.