Mahela’s praise on entire team

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena made certain he did not get caught up in the euphoria of Muttiah Muralitheran’s millstone of 700 wickets and paid tribute to the whole team for crushing Bangladesh by an innings and 193 runs in the third and final cricket test at the Asgiriya stadium on Saturday.

“The whole team played really well in all departments and when you perform to that level it is always going to be tough for a team like Bangladesh to keep up,” Jayawardene told reporters.“I was a bit surprised when we finished it today after two days of rain but the way we bowled in their first innings and then scoring 470 in one day put them under a lot of pressure.

“Credit should go to the whole team for the way they executed our game plan,” he added.

“We will now keep focusing on what is ahead of us and will not rest on our laurels, especially in Australia this November,” he said.

Muttiah Muralitharan was named man of the series in which he claimed 26 wickets, taking his tally against Bangladesh to 76 wickets in just nine Tests. Sri Lanka are due to tour Australia for two Test matches in November, but Muralitharan was unsure of going past Warne’s haul of 708 wickets.

“The record will come sometime in the near future, but I am not sure it will happen in Australia because the wickets there usually help fast bowlers,”he said.

“I don't know how much I will get to bowl in Australia because our fast bowlers could grab most of the wickets.

“But I am delighted to get to 700 in Kandy which is my home town. I could not have asked for more.”