Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan believes his shoulder problems are history and that he is back to his best form after he condemned West Indies to a heavy defeat in the second Test.
The 33-year-old ran through the inexperienced West Indies batting line-up, taking eight for 46 in the innings to finish with 10-83 in the match.
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"My shoulder is now perfectly alright," Muralitharan told reporters after sealing Sri Lanka's 240 run victory in his hometown.
"There is always room for improvement as a bowler but I feel that my bowling is normal again and the shoulder surgery has not had an long-term adverse effects.
"My stint with Lancashire was important because it allowed me to recuperate. I had to play through some shoulder pain at the start but it got better and better with the more cricket I played."
The West Indian batsmen failed to negotiate Muralitharan's vicious off breaks and doosras on a pitch offering sharp turn and variable bounce.
Sri Lanka's main strike bowler, Chaminda Vaas, had to sit out the second innings with a hamstring strain and Muralitharan was happy to capitalise on his team mate's absence.
"I thought I bowled well and just concentrated on putting the ball in the right places against their inexperienced batsmen," said Muralitharan.
"Vaas has bowled brilliantly in this series so if he had been fit I would not have taken 10 in the game, but in the end it was my turn."
Muralitharan's haul left him with 549 wickets from 93 Tests, 40 wickets behind his spin-rival Australia's Shane Warne.
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