Birthday special: Lasith Malinga – Top 3 spells of Lankan pacer
Lasith Malinga will go down as one of the greatest fast bowlers of his time. A man blessed with an uncanny slinging action, Malinga flummoxed several batsmen with his guile, precision, accuracy, as well as clever changes in pace and length.
Malinga represented Sri Lanka in 30 Tests, 226 ODIs and 83 T20Is. While he scalped 101 wickets in the whites, he picked up a whopping 338 wickets in ODI cricket. In T20Is too, the right arm pacer prized out 107 batsmen. As Malinga turns 38 today, let us take a look at the three best spells of his career in international cricket.
Honourable mention: During the 2007 fifty-over World Cup, Lasith Malinga created history by picking up 4 wickets in 4 balls against South Africa, and created jitters in the Proteas’ camp. From 206/5, the South African side was reduced to 207/9, chasing a target of 210. However, Robin Peterson and Charl Langeveldt kept their cool and steered South African to victory. Even though it came in a losing cause, this spell is an extremely special one.
5/68 vs NZ (Tests)
Lasith Malinga absolutely bamboozled the New Zealand batsmen with his guile at Wellington in December 2006. Sri Lanka scored 268 in their first innings, and New Zealand were bowled out for a paltry total of just 130 in reply. And, the chief destroyer of the Kiwi batting line-up was Malinga, who scalped 5 wickets, giving away 68 runs in his 18 overs. His superb spell helped Sri Lanka hammer their opposition by 217 runs and enabled them to score a special away victory over New Zealand at Wellington.
5/28 vs Australia (ODIs)
On 16th August 2011, Lasith Malinga played a key role in helping the Sri Lankan side crush Australia by 78 runs in Hambantota. Sri Lanka batted first and posted a total of 286 runs on the board. And, it was Malinga who shone through with the ball when Australia wielded the willow.
The right-arm pacer scalped a five-wicket haul, giving away just 28 runs in the 8.2 overs that he bowled, as Australia was bowled out for a total of just 208.
5/6 vs NZ (T20Is)
The best spell in Lasith Malinga’s career came in the year 2019, against New Zealand in the T20I format. Batting first, Sri Lanka posted a total of 125 runs on the board. In reply, it was the magic of Malinga that rendered the Kiwis totally helpless.
In the 4 overs that he bowled, Malinga cleaned up the entire New Zealand top order, and picked up 5 wickets, giving away just 6 runs. And, his sensational spell helped Sri Lanka beat their opponents by 37 runs. Needless to say, Malinga won the Player of the Match award for his excellent bowling performance.
