Muralitharan went past the 502-wicket market set by former Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram´s when he found a faint edge off Gambhir´s bat in his last over.
The 36-year-old Muralitharan, who is also highest wicket-taker in test matches with 769 dismissals, had otherwise a poor time with the ball, ending with figures of 1-66.
Murali dedicated the record to his family for their constant encouragement. "They are great supporters of mine, and have stood by me through the bad times and the good." He also told Cricinfo that the feat was a great achievement for Sri Lanka "because we are not a great cricket-playing nation, we are a smaller nation compared to others".
Akram, the man who´s record was broken, led the tributes to Murali." I noticed his progress in 2003 and realised he was the only man who could break my record," he told AFP. "At times I jokingly told him not to play one-day cricket, so that my record would remain intact, but he is relentless in taking wickets. I am happy that a bowler of his calibre has broken my record.
"No matter what type of surface he has played on, no matter in which country and against which team ... he is simply great and more than a good bowler, he is a good human being."
One-Day Internationals
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Most wickets in career
| Player | Mat | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | 4 | 5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Muralitharan (Asia/ICC/SL) | 328* | 17653 | 11444 | 503 | 7/30 | 22.75 | 14 | 10 | |||
| Wasim Akram (Pak) | 356 | 18186 | 11812 | 502 | 5/15 | 23.52 | 17 | 6 | |||
| Waqar Younis (Pak) | 262 | 12698 | 9919 | 416 | 7/36 | 23.84 | 14 | 13 | |||
| WPUJC Vaas (Asia/SL) | 322 | 15775 | 11014 | 400 | 8/19 | 27.53 | 9 | 4 | |||
| SM Pollock (Afr/ICC/SA) | 303 | 15712 | 9631 | 393 | 6/35 | 24.50 | 12 | 5 | |||
| GD McGrath (Aus/ICC) | 250 | 12970 | 8391 | 381 | 7/15 | 22.02 | 9 | 7 | |||
| A Kumble (Asia/India) | 271 | 14496 | 10412 | 337 | 6/12 | 30.89 | 8 | 2 | |||
| J Srinath (India) | 229 | 11935 | 8847 | 315 | 5/23 | 28.08 | 7 | 3 | |||
| ST Jayasuriya (Asia/SL) | 431* | 14448 | 11476 | 312 | 6/29 | 36.78 | 8 | 4 | |||
| B Lee (Aus) | 173 | 8853 | 6955 | 303 | 5/22 | 22.95 | 11 | 8 |
