Sri Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga, considered as one of the greatest fast bowlers of the modern era, turned 40. Since his debut in 2004 at the international stage till 2020, this pacer’s sling-like action, pin-point Yorkers and lethal pace terrorised batters worldwide and he had an immense impact on Sri Lankan Cricket for years to come. He represented Sri Lanka in 30 Tests. In these, he took 101 wickets at an average of 33.15 and best bowling figures of 5/50. He took seven four-wickets and three five-wicket hauls in the longer format. However, he quit the format in 2011 to extend his white-ball career. Malinga is Sri Lanka’s sixth-highest wicket-taker in Tests, with Muttiah Muralitharan at the top with 795 wickets. ODIs were Malinga’s best format. In 226 matches, Malinga took 338 wickets, which came at an average of 28.87 and best bowling figures of 6/38. The pacer took 11 four-wicket hauls and eight five-wicket hauls in the 50-over format. He is SL’s third-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket, with Muralitharan topping the charts with 523 scalps. Overall, he is the ninth-highest wicket-taker ever in ODIs. Malinga was part of the teams that went to the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 and 2011. With seven wickets in 2007 and 13 scalps in the 2011 edition of the tournament, Malinga played a crucial role in his side’s success in both of these tournaments. Having a total of 56 World Cup wickets, he is the third-highest wicket-taker in tournament history, with Australia’s Glenn McGrath at the top with 71 wickets. In 84 T20Is, Malinga took 107 wickets. These wickets came at an average of 20.79 and he had best bowling figures of 5/6. He took a four-wicket haul and two five-wicket hauls in the format. He is SL’s top wicket taker in T20I format to this day. He is overall the fifth-highest wicket-taker in T20Is. He led Sri Lanka to their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup triumph in 2014 as a captain. Throughout the tournament, he took five wickets in six matches, with the best bowling figures of 2/5. Overall in 340 matches, he has taken 546 wickets at an average of 28.08 and best bowling figures of 6/38. He has taken 13 five-wicket hauls in his international career. He is Sri Lanka’s third-highest wicket-taker of all time, behind legends like Chaminda Vaas (761 wickets) and Muralitharan (1,347 wickets). Malinga has a total of five hat-tricks in international cricket, which includes three in ODIs and two in T20Is. He is also the only bowler to take four wickets in four successive balls in international cricket twice, achieving it once each in ODIs and T20Is. Despite his retirement in 2020, he remained a global franchise cricket superstar. In 295 T20Is, he has a total of 390 wickets at an average of 19.68, with the best figures of 6/7.
