1972
The birth of talented yet controversial offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan. It looked like his Test career might stall on 80 wickets when Darrell Hair called him for throwing at the MCG in 1995-96, but Murali - of whom it was once said that he could turn it off a motorway - overcame that, and became Sri Lanka's strike bowler. Murali sailed past the 500-wicket mark in just 87 Tests and went past Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test wickets in May 2004. The record went back and forth between Murali and another great spinner of his generation, Shane Warne, before Murali eventually claimed it in December 2007, going past Warne's tally of 708 wickets months after the Australian's retirement. He seized the ODI record for most wickets from Wasim Akram in February 2009. The following year he brought the curtain down on his Test career with a fairytale finish, taking his 800th wicket, the last of the Indian innings, in a win for Sri Lanka in Galle. His last ODI, the World Cup final the following year against the same opponents, wasn't quite as happy a memory.
The birth of talented yet controversial offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan. It looked like his Test career might stall on 80 wickets when Darrell Hair called him for throwing at the MCG in 1995-96, but Murali - of whom it was once said that he could turn it off a motorway - overcame that, and became Sri Lanka's strike bowler. Murali sailed past the 500-wicket mark in just 87 Tests and went past Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test wickets in May 2004. The record went back and forth between Murali and another great spinner of his generation, Shane Warne, before Murali eventually claimed it in December 2007, going past Warne's tally of 708 wickets months after the Australian's retirement. He seized the ODI record for most wickets from Wasim Akram in February 2009. The following year he brought the curtain down on his Test career with a fairytale finish, taking his 800th wicket, the last of the Indian innings, in a win for Sri Lanka in Galle. His last ODI, the World Cup final the following year against the same opponents, wasn't quite as happy a memory.
 |
| Muralidharan is the only bowler to take 800 test wickets |
1977
Dinesh Mongia, born today, forced his way into the Indian national side with a string of big innings. He hammered 159 in the one-day series decider against Zimbabwe in Guwahati in March 2002, but suspicions remained that kinks in his technique could be exposed on more challenging tracks abroad, and indifferent displays in England resulted in him being relegated to a bit-part role in the tours that followed. He made it to the 2003 World Cup squad but didn't contribute significantly. He went on to play for Lancashire and Leicestershire, and was especially useful in the Twenty20 Cup. In 2007 he joined the ICL, but he returned to the official fold in 2009.
Dinesh Mongia, born today, forced his way into the Indian national side with a string of big innings. He hammered 159 in the one-day series decider against Zimbabwe in Guwahati in March 2002, but suspicions remained that kinks in his technique could be exposed on more challenging tracks abroad, and indifferent displays in England resulted in him being relegated to a bit-part role in the tours that followed. He made it to the 2003 World Cup squad but didn't contribute significantly. He went on to play for Lancashire and Leicestershire, and was especially useful in the Twenty20 Cup. In 2007 he joined the ICL, but he returned to the official fold in 2009.
