Sri Lanka star Muttiah Muralitharan admitted his last international appearance had been a letdown following a six-wicket World Cup final defeat by India. The record-breaking 38-year-old, the sole survivor from Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup final-winning team, was not the force of old with injuries appearing to hamper him as he bowled a wicketless spell of eight overs for 39 runs.
They were respectable enough figures but hardly the kind of astounding analysis that became commonplace in Muralitharan's career, which yielded 800 wickets in 133 Tests and 534 in one-day internationals, both world records.
"It was a little bit disappointing because my main aim was to win the World Cup," said Muralitharan on his return to Colombo on Sunday.