Rain holds up Muttiah Muralitharan’s record bid

(BBC) It was a frustrating day for everyone, not least Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan’s bid to end his Test career with a record 800 wickets has been stalled by bad weather.

After Sri Lanka’s batsmen had run up 256-2 on day one of the first Test in Galle, rain intervened on Monday.

With no prospect of a prompt start after overnight showers, a thunderstorm before lunch caused further havoc.

Play was abandoned for the day at 3.18pm local time, with rain forecast for the remainder of the match too. Muralitharan has 792 Test wickets.

Should play be possible at some stage today, Tharanga Paranavitana will resume his innings on 110 not out with Mahela Jayawardene on eight.