Popularly known as Malinga the Slinga, Sri Lankan right-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga has already completed a decade in International cricket. Making his test debut against Australia in 2004, the 35-year-old cricketer has so far taken 301 ODI wickets, 101 Test Wickets, and 90 T20I wickets. Over the years, his lethal yorkers have troubled various batsmen from all over the world while his impact in the shorter format is remarkable.
492 international wickets 👆#WT20 2014 winning captain 🏆
Only man to take 3 ODI hat-tricks 🎩
Four in a row against South Africa in 2007! 💪Happy birthday to Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga! 🇱🇰 pic.twitter.com/RZp1WB4XZD
— ICC (@ICC) August 28, 2018
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On his 35th birthday, let’s check out 5 of his best performance which makes him one of the deadliest bowlers in the history of international cricket:
1. 5 for 31 vs England (2012)
Taking 5 wickets in a T20 game is always a dream come true for every bowler. Well, Lasith Malinga achieved the same against England in the T20 World Cup in 2012.
Chasing 170 runs to win, Malinga stalled England’s chase in the 3rd over when he took 3 wickets. While Samit Patel was England’s lone warrior in the match. It was Malinga who took his wicket to help Sri Lanka win by 19 runs.
2. 5 for 52 vs Pakistan (2014)
The 2014 Asia Cup in Bangladesh which had Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing the 1st match is considered one of the thrilling matches in ODIs. Batting first, Sri Lanka made 296 in 50 overs while Captain Misbah and Umar Akmal played some marvellous innings and at one time it seemed that Pakistan was on course to win the game but Malinga once again proved his worth by taking the wickets of Misbah and Afridi in the same over and finish with a 5-wicket haul to clinch a dramatic victory.
3. 5 for 50 vs India (2010)
The test match was in the news for veteran Muttiah Muralitharan’s farewell Test but it was Malinga’s comeback Test after a long span of 3 years. Well, the Galle born bowler took 5-wicket haul which includes the wickets of Dravid, Tendulkar, Gambhir, and Dhoni to help Sri Lanka achieve a great victory over the sub-continent giants.
4. 5 for 34 vs Pakistan (2010)
It was the first match of the 2010 Asia Cup when Malinga gave one of the best performance of his career. In his first spell, he took wickets of Umar Amin and Salman Butt while he kept on removing the tail-enders one by one to hand Sri Lanka a 16 run memorable win while defending 242.
5. 4 in 4 vs South Africa (2007)
Malinga’s performance in the Super Eights of the 2007 World Cup will be ranked his best performance ever for Sri Lanka. Well, it was Super Eights of the 2007 World Cup and Sri Lanka had scored just 209 runs against South Africa. Meanwhile, it was an easy chase for the Proteas who needed just 4 runs from 32 deliveries with 5 wickets in hand. This was when Malinga took 4 wickets in 4 consecutive deliveries which had left the entire South African dressing room into a state of shock. While South Africa managed to win the match, Malinga shared the Man of the Match award with South Arica’s Charl Langeveldt.
Well, Malinga has truly nailed the art of fast bowling and has been considered as an inspiration for many players all over the world.
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