Lasith Malinga: The integral part of Mumbai Indians’ IPL success

Lasith Malinga and Mumbai Indians can well be considered as the most formidable combination in the Twenty20 format. The pacer’s success with the Mumbai franchise is next to none when it comes to T20 cricket. Malinga was part of 139 matches for the Mumbai Indians across all T20s where he bowled as many as 530 overs, the most by any pace bowler for a T20 side. In those games, Malinga claimed a whopping 195 wickets which is by far the most by any player for a team in this format.

Career highlights

Malinga made a mark straight away for the Mumbai Indians by picking a wicket with the 2nd ball for them (Parthiv Patel in 2009 IPL opener). The master of slinging action ended his career for MI a decade with a wicket off his last ball (Shardul Thakur) in 2019 IPL which sealed a record 4th title for MI. Malinga was part of four IPL triumphs (2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019) and played a key role in the 2011 Champions League victory in the absence of the key Indian players.

? Malinga is staring down. He lifts his hand up and kisses the ball. Wankhede is echoing with MA-LIN-GA MA-LIN-GA as he picks up momentum in his run up. He slings and bowls. The ball moves, dips and finds the base of the stump through the batsman’s defence. ? pic.twitter.com/kFe7H8JSt9

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) January 20, 2021

During his active years, Malinga always delivered for the Mumbai team at the death overs. Across IPL and CLT20, the Sri Lankan pacer bowled a total of 206 overs at the death (16-20) which is more than 1/3rd of his career overs for MI. Malinga had always been a great part of the MI team even while not playing. After not getting picked by any team in the 2018 season, he came into the Mumbai dugout as a bowling mentor.

Even today, the star bowler of MI, Jasprit Bumrah credits his success to Lasith Malinga as to how he shaped under the guidance of the Sri Lankan ever since his debut in 2013. It was no surprise the MI owner stated they would have him for the next 5 years too if not for his retirement from franchise cricket. Malinga, however, would happily end his career in franchise T20 cricket as the leading wicket-taker of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the biggest of all the Twenty20 leagues.