David vs Goliath

Imagine you are King Vikramaditya, carrying Betaal on your shoulders. And Betaal asks you, “Who is a better bowler, Warne or Muralitharan?”

A challenging task lay ahead of the 1990s. The 1960s and 1970s had the Indian spin quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and S Venkatraghavan. The 1980s saw Abdul Qadir achieving cult status. But by the end of the decade, spin lost fizz. Except one-hit wonders like L Sivaramakrishnan and Narendra Hirwani, fast bowlers were the weapons. 

In many ways, the 1990s are rated a relatively unremarkable decade. They would have been so for spin bowling as well, if not for three young men coming from disparate countries and schools of facial expression: Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Maybe you should sit down before you hear the total number of wickets the three took in Tests and One-day Internationals. It is 3,264. Of these, 2,119 came in Tests. Statistically, Muralitharan was better than the other two, with 792 wickets in Tests and 515 in ODIs. 

Warne said recently, “I suppose we went through the 1980s with the dominance of the fast bowlers, then along came myself and Anil Kumble, and Murali, and Saqlain Mushtaq, and Mushtaq Ahmed. There were half a dozen spinners in that mid-1990s period when you knew that whoever you were facing, you were going to be tested by a decent spinner, if not two.”

With all due respect to Saqlain and Mushtaq, it’s the Wa-Mu-Ku trio (Warne, Muralitharan, Kumble) who, by their sheer longevity, merit installations in the bowling Hall of Fame. Warne retired in 2007 after a 15-year career and 1,001 international wickets. Kumble stopped in 2008 after 18 years and 956 victims.

Now Muralitharan is going away. He too put in 18 years. After the first Test against India in Galle, he will rest the elbow which bends no-more-than the-permitted-15-degrees-so-please-shut-up.

 “The time is right to move out because we have three good spinners (presumably Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv, though Mendis has been left out of the current series against India),” Muralitharan says. “I hope they also get a chance, because as a youngster I got a chance to perform—that’s how I came to this level.”

He says if needed he will be available to play in next year’s World Cup. “If I can fit in, definitely I will come and help, but if the youngsters are doing well and the team is also doing well, I will be happy to support them to win the World Cup,” says Muralitharan, ever the sport.

Though Wa-Mu-Ku all racked up great statistics and became titans of the sport, the more passionate comparisons are between Wa and Mu. This is because of three reasons. They were big turners. They were in the race for the highest wickets world record. And they were controversial. Warne was a rogue off the field and has a drug suspension to his name. Muralitharan had that elbow which never got him acceptance from some.

Bishen Singh Bedi is a volatile mix of erudition and lack of inhibition (and hairy arms). He has produced some of the most entertaining quotes in Indian cricket. Here is one of his many gems. “A lover other than a husband is called the doosra. A doosra is never legitimate. It is the same with the doosra delivery. Society will never accept it,” Bedi said recently, referring to Muralitharan’s guerilla delivery that spins away from a right-hander.

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has been more generous in his evaluation of Muralitharan, but he does not like the rule that permits bowlers hyperextensions of the arm. He told Open last year, “Most changes (in cricket) have been positive. The one that I am uncomfortable with is the one that allows bowlers with hyperextension (of the elbow) to bowl despite evidence that it gives them an unfair advantage.”

What about you? Suppose for a moment that you are Vikram. Betaal demands an answer to the question: who is greater, Warne or Muralitharan? What would you say? 

You will think aloud as you carry Betaal. Those members of the cricket community who have no bias or axe to grind, you will say, will rate Warne as the purer bowler. The modified no-ball rule may allow a flexing of the arm, but it is still an advantage. A similar argument is used in favour of Roger Federer in comparisons with Rafael Nadal. Nadal uses a bigger, lighter racquet. It is well within the rules. But Federer is seen as a purer player since he plays with an old fashioned tool of the trade. Warne is a foxy character who cannot always be taken at face value. He is the kind of guy who says Yusuf Pathan’s IPL century against the Mumbai Indians this year was the “greatest innings I ever saw”. But there is no room for suspicion in his bowling action.

Warne was also a big star. He brought sex appeal to the geeky department of spin bowling, earlier representatives of which were compelling figures like Derek Underwood. Warne continued the Qadir tradition of the big turn, which satisfied even lowest common denominator fans who really did not care about ‘loop’ and ‘lovely action’. (Cricket fans who want to show that they are cricket fans, will never miss a chance to throw these two terms, accompanied by flighting an imaginary ball in the air, twirling their fingers clockwise or anti-clockwise, depending on the bowler being discussed.) Regular fans wanted the obvious delights of grease and sizzle, like in a satisfying pav bhaji, not subtleties. Warne served them that. His ‘Ball of the Century’ to Mike Gatting is one of cricket’s great singular moments, the bowling equivalent of Javed Miandad’s last-ball six in Sharjah and Kapil Dev’s catch of Viv Richards in the 1983 World Cup final. 

Sivaramakrishnan, asked to pick between Warne and Muralitharan (he must have felt like Paul the Octopus), says, “Warne. The main reason is he was a leg-spinner and so was I. It was nice to see a leg-spinner achieve so much. Even otherwise, he was a complete package. 

His bowling, appeals, field placing… He was a great slip fielder (and a capable batsman). He grabbed your attention. You enjoyed watching him. Muralitharan too is a great bowler, but he maintains a low profile.”

Asked if Muralitharan’s action and a more accommodating no-ball rule gave him an advantage, Siva says: “Muralitharan’s action is cleared, so let’s not talk about that.” But when asked if hyperextension helps spinners, Siva agrees. “It becomes a bit easier to bowl the doosra. It also gives you more power.”

You will now build Muralitharan’s case for Betaal. He also turned the ball big, which fans loved to see. He was a pioneer, the first major off-spinner who was a wrist spinner, not a finger spinner. His back-of-the-hand deliveries almost had the same motion as a backhand tap in badminton. Like Warne, he too produced great wickets. His spell against India in the 2007 World Cup is still vivid in memory. Muralitharan cornered Mahendra Singh Dhoni with one that pitched on middle stump and went straight on the pads, while Dhoni played for turn. Dhoni was so plumb that he walked for an lbw decision. Muralitharan was Man of the Match and was one of the tournament’s most successful bowlers with 23 wickets. 

A lot is made of a bulk of Muralitharan’s plunder coming against cricket’s two weak kingdoms: Bangladesh (89 wickets at 13.37 runs each) and Zimbabwe (87 at 16.86 each). But his most wickets have come against England (112 at 20.06 each) and South Africa (104 at 22.22). He also has a healthy tally of 97 (at 33.34 runs each) against India and 80 (25.46 runs) against Pakistan, two sides that best play spin. In fact, he has done far better against India than Warne. Warne took only 43 wickets against India. Agreed, he played only 14 matches against India compared to 21 by Muralitharan. Still, Warne’s average against India is a much more ordinary 47.18. 

It is true, however, that Muralitharan’s performances on pitches in India and Australia haven’t been great. He averages 75.41 in Australia, 45.45 in India. But it is equally true that Muralitharan shouldered the responsibility of Sri Lanka’s attack, while Warne bowled along with weapons like Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee. 

“He was the best spinner of his generation, a champion bowler no matter what some people say,” Saqlain says of Muralitharan. 

Where Muralitharan’s action is concerned, some rather knowledgeable cricket brains have certified it as legitimate, despite the harsh judgments of umpire Darrell Hair in the famous Boxing Day Test match in 1995, and, in later years, match referee Chris Broad. 

‘This (Darrell Hair’s) was the worst example of umpiring that I have witnessed, and against everything the game stands for,’ Sir Don Bradman had felt about Muralitharan being hauled up for chucking by Hair. Bradman had not aired his views on the matter, but these were passed on to his publisher, Tom Thompson, after Bradman’s death in 2001. ‘Clearly, Muralitharan does not throw the ball,’ Bradman had noted. ‘No effort in that direction is made or implied by him. His every effort is to direct the ball unto the batsman. Muralitharan wants to bamboozle, to trick through flight and change of pace.’

Even Warne says, “Muralitharan’s action has been dogged by drama. It has been passed by scientific tests. I always thought it was probably legitimate.”

Muralitharan himself has this to say: “Why don’t they (his doubters) use it (technology) and see whether there is anything wrong with my bowling action? That’s the only argument I have against them. A thousand people can have different opinions. There will be people supportive of my bowling action and others not. Technology has proved that I am clean. People can carry their own opinion about me but I don’t care, for as long as I am clean I am very happy.”

The final verdict, for the sake of Betaal and everyone interested, is this. Muralitharan will be recognised as a fighter who overcame great obstacles to become a prolific wicket-taker and a very deserving world record holder. Warne will be rated the greater cricketer because he could also bat and was part of more winning campaigns. 

Without either, cricket would have been less exciting. It is a batsman’s game, but it is bowlers who win matches.

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