Muralitharan on brink of history

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KANDY, Dec 2 (Cricinfo): Muttiah Muralitharan moved level with Shane Warne on 708 wickets as he bowled Sri Lanka back into the first Test at Kandy.
He claimed the first four England batsmen to fall on the second day as they lost 5 for 78 and drew level with Warne when he removed Ravi Bopara.
But he was forced to wait for his crowning moment as rain, which had threatened during the morning, moved across the ground and wiped out the final three hours of play.
It was a wonderful spell from Muralitharan - which brought the same number of wickets as he claimed during two Tests in Australia - after he was introduced into the attack for the eighth over of the day.
With so few runs to play with it was a surprise he wasn't used from the start, but Mahela Jayawardene had a curious day as captain.
However, once he was into the action there was no getting the ball away from him as his elastic wrist got to work.
As Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan added 107, England were continuing their dominance from the opening day and replays, plus Vaughan's reaction, suggested Mur-alitharan was fortunate with the scalp that got him going. But like Warne, his arch rival and the man who took the record off him in 2004, he gets wickets with his presence alone.
England 186 for 6 (Bell 83, Collingwood 14*, Sidebottom 1*, Muralitharan 4-30) trail Sri Lanka 188 by two runs.