Lasith Malinga raring to have a go at Sachin Tendulkar

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Galle: Sitting on the parapet outside the Sri Lankan dressing room, Lasith Malinga is comfortably feeling at home. Knowing the weather is not permitting the second day’s play to begin, the Lankan pacer is relaxed, signing autographs and posing with fans for pictures.

But one can see the anxiousness in his eyes and the eagerness to get back on to the ground as soon as possible. He can’t wait to roll his arms around. The keenness, understandably, is more because he is returning to Test cricket after two and half years. His last Test was at this venue, against England in 2007.

The Galle-born pacer can’t wait to get the new ball in hand but he is not too sure when he can actually do that. “It has been raining and it might rain again. It is difficult (the play),” says Malinga in a dejected tone, looking at the skies.

The 26-year-old hasn’t played in Tests for quite some time and has been appearing only in the ODIs and Twenty20’s. “I am keen to put my bowling shoes on,” he told DNA. He is looking forward to bowling against India and particularly Sachin Tendulkar, his captain at Mumbai Indians. “India is a good side and they have a very good batting line-up. Sachin is a great batsman and I would love to bowl to him. I have played alongside him for the Mumbai Indians and am now looking forward to bowling to him in the series.”

So is being Tendulkar’s teammate at Mumbai Indians a
benefit? “I don’t think so. It doesn’t matter if you know his game. He doesn’t have any weakness. He can play all the shots,” he says. “But I am aiming to bowl my best against him.”

Despite India having a weak bow ling line-up, Malinga feels it won’t be easy to beat the visitors. “They may not have the experience of Zaheer but they have good talented bowlers. Harbhajan is quite experienced. Also their batting is very strong,” Malinga, who has 91 wickets from 28 matches, says.

So does Sri Lanka stand a chance to win the series? “We’re not looking at the whole series at one go. We will be taking one match at a time and not rush into things. We will put our best foot forward. It cannot be said that india is a weak team or it will be easy to beat them. The contest is going to be healthy and strong as India is a good team,” he signs off.

Final face off between Sachin and Murali

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Galle:

Sachin Tendulkar dances down the wicket and hits Muttiah Muralitharan out of the ground. Or how about this scenario: Murali foxes Tendulkar with a wrong one and gets him stumped. The clash between the leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker has always been a cricket fan’s delight. The world will see it for the last time in the Galle Test starting today.


The unorthodox off-spinner, who is eight scalps short of the 800-mark, has said this will be his final appearance in Test cricket. The occasion has all the makings of a dramatic finale. Murali will be bowling on a turning track in his home town, using all his wiles to try and reach the target of 800 wickets. Sachin, just three short of 50 Test hundreds, will be equally determined to see off the Lankan legend with a memorable innings.

The two have a lot in common. Both have respect for each other’s talent, they’re both down to earth in nature and great role models for youngsters.

“The most difficult batsman is whoever plays well on the day. In world cricket, I admire two people, Sachin and Brian Lara, because they are the most consistent batsmen in my generation. It is always challenging to bowl to Sachin. He is such a complete batsman,” Murali had told DNA.

Murali enjoys the competition against Sachin and breaks into a broad smile every time he gets to beat the bat of the Mumbai legend. So a keenly anticipated moment in Test cricket will arrive when Sachin comes out at No.4 and takes guard before Murali tosses his unorthodox spinners. “A great era is coming to an end. After this, cricket won’t be as interesting as before,” said a fan in Galle.

Sachin tendulkar's blood to be used in book

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As a perfect gift for the cricket fans, a crazy publisher has planned to bring out a book made with Sachin Tendulkar’s blood. The biography will be a perfect tribute to the great batsman, the publisher said.

This special edition, also called 'blood edition', will include the unseen pictures of Tendulkar’s family and his thoughts about his career.

As per the reports, the book will have 852 pages all edged in gold leaf. More to it, the book will showcase the batsman's DNA profile which was obtained from a swab of his DNA.

This strange idea is expected to fetch £49,000 to the publisher. The book will be released for the fans in coming February. Interestingly, all the 10 copies have already been booked.

"The signature page will be mixed with Sachin's blood – mixed into the paper pulp so it's a red resin.It is what it is – you will have Sachin's blood on the page,"
As a perfect gift for the cricket fans, a crazy publisher has planned to bring out a book made with Sachin Tendulkar’s blood. The biography will be a perfect tribute to the great batsman, the publisher said.

This special edition, also called 'blood edition', will include the unseen pictures of Tendulkar’s family and his thoughts about his career.

As per the reports, the book will have 852 pages all edged in gold leaf. More to it, the book will showcase the batsman's DNA profile which was obtained from a swab of his DNA.

This strange idea is expected to fetch £49,000 to the publisher. The book will be released for the fans in coming February. Interestingly, all the 10 copies have already been booked.


As a perfect gift for the cricket fans, a crazy publisher has planned to bring out a book made with Sachin Tendulkar’s blood. The biography will be a perfect tribute to the great batsman, the publisher said.

This special edition, also called 'blood edition', will include the unseen pictures of Tendulkar’s family and his thoughts about his career.

As per the reports, the book will have 852 pages all edged in gold leaf. More to it, the book will showcase the batsman's DNA profile which was obtained from a swab of his DNA.

This strange idea is expected to fetch £49,000 to the publisher. The book will be released for the fans in coming February. Interestingly, all the 10 copies have already been booked.

publisher Kraken Media's CEO Karl Fowler told the media as follows:
"The signature page will be mixed with Sachin's blood – mixed into the paper pulp so it's a red resin. It is what it is – you will have Sachin's blood on the page,"

"It's not everyone's cup of tea, it's not to everyone's taste and some may think it's a bit weird. But the key thing here is that Sachin Tendulkar to millions of people is a religious icon. And we thought how, in a publishing form, can you get as close to your god as possible," said Karl Fowler.

The proceeds from the sale of the books will go to Tendulkar's charitable foundation to help build a school in Mumbai, an official said.

The publisher has also spoken about one thousands cheaper copies that will be priced at about £2,000 each.

"The signature page will be mixed with Sachin's blood – mixed into the paper pulp so it's a red resin. It is what it is – you will have Sachin's blood on the page," publisher Kraken Media's CEO Karl Fowler told the media.

"It's not everyone's cup of tea, it's not to everyone's taste and some may think it's a bit weird. But the key thing here is that Sachin Tendulkar to millions of people is a religious icon. And we thought how, in a publishing form, can you get as close to your god as possible," said Karl Fowler.

The proceeds from the sale of the books will go to Tendulkar's charitable foundation to help build a school in Mumbai, an official said.

The publisher has also spoken about one thousands cheaper copies that will be priced at about £2,000 each.


"It's not everyone's cup of tea, it's not to everyone's taste and some may think it's a bit weird. But the key thing here is that Sachin Tendulkar to millions of people is a religious icon. And we thought how, in a publishing form, can you get as close to your god as possible," said Karl Fowler.

The proceeds from the sale of the books will go to Tendulkar's charitable foundation to help build a school in Mumbai, an official said.

The publisher has also spoken about one thousands cheaper copies that will be priced at about £2,000 each.