Ever since he made his debut in international cricket in July 2004, Malinga has been a superstar and match-winner in the limited-overs formats. The fast bowler from Galle played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s rise in the late 2000s and early 2010s, which includes successive ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final appearances, in 2007 and 2011, and the ICC World T20 triumph in 2014, for which he was also the captain during the latter part of the tournament. As the 35-year-old draws the curtains on his one-day international career, we revisit some of his finest bowling performances in the format.
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4/54 v South Africa at Providence Stadium, Guyana, 2007
The Super Eight fixture of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2007, between Sri Lanka and South Africa, turned out to be one of the most thrilling games of the tournament. At 206/5 in the 45th over, with a well-set Jacques Kallis at the crease, South Africa were cruising towards a 210-run target. What followed next was one of the most iconic performances in the history of the Cricket World Cup.
Malinga, bowling his final spell, produced four wickets in four balls – the only such instance in international cricket then, and still the only one in ODIs. He first dismissed Shaun Pollock and Andrew Hall with the last two balls of the 45th over, before inducing an outside edge off Kallis’ bat on the first ball of his next to complete a hat-trick. With South Africa still needing three runs to win, Malinga then produced his famed to-crusher to dismiss Makhaya Ntini. Despite his heroic effort, however, South Africa managed to scrape through, with Robin Peterson and Charl Langeveldt surviving a nervy passage of play and seeing South Africa to a thrilling one-wicket win.
6/38 v Kenya at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, 2011
Playing his second World Cup in 2011, Malinga was an imperious presence, using his skills and experience to instill fear in opponents’ hearts. Against Kenya, in Sri Lanka’s second game of the tournament, Malinga ran through the opposition batting, finishing with figures of 6/38 in 7.4 overs. He first dismissed Seren Waters and Collins Obuya in his opening spell, before picking up four more wickets in the span of two overs in the second half of the innings.
4/34 v New Zealand at Cardiff Wales Stadium, Cardiff, 2013
What had appeared to be a one-sided contest mid-innings turned into an exhilarating low-scoring affair, thanks to another Malinga masterclass. Mitchell McClenaghan and Kyle Mills had run through Sri Lanka to bundle them out for 138 in 37.5 overs.
Malinga, however, revived Sri Lankan hopes, taking the crucial wicket of Kane Williamson and later trapping Daniel Vettori lbw to reduce New Zealand to 80/6. He then returned for an enterprising final spell, in which he dismissed both the McCullum brothers – skipper Brendon and Nathan, to dent New Zealand’s chase further. The Black Caps eventually hobbled across by one wicket, but not before Malinga had wrapped up his quota of 10 overs with figures of 4/34.
5/56 v Pakistan at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, 2014
Another big game, another impactful performance: Malinga’s 5/56 in the final of the 2014 Asia Cup helped Sri Lanka win the title for the fifth time. His triple strike early in the innings, after Pakistan had elected to bat, pushed them to the back foot, reducing them to 18/3. They were steadied by a 122 run-partnership between Misbah-ul-Haq and Fawad Alam, but before it could gather steam, Malinga removed Misbah for 65.
The death-overs specialist then dismissed Umar Akmal in the final over of the innings as Pakistan finished at 260/5 in their 50 overs. Each of the five wickets had fallen to a single bowler – a rare occurrence in limited-overs cricket. Lahiru Thirmanne’s 101 and Mahela Jayawardene’s 75 then guided Sri Lanka to a comprehensive five-wicket win.
4/43 v England at Headingley, Leeds, 2019
Having come into the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 as a highly unfancied side, Sri Lanka were left facing the improbable task of defending 232 runs against a world-class England batting line-up that had been breathing fire in the tournament.
Playing in his last World Cup, Malinga had lost pace and fitness, but his skills and accuracy remained undiminished. He first dismissed openers James Vince and Jonny Bairstow to lift Sri Lanka’s hopes. Then, returning in the middle overs, Malinga took the key wickets of a well-set Joe Root and the dangerous Jos Buttler to put the game in balance.
Sri Lanka went on to complete a 20-run win that not only kept their semi-final hopes alive, but also left England, one of the pre-tournament favourites, walking a tightrope, thus pushing the tournament wide open. Malinga had a memorable last World Cup overall, finishing it as Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker, with 13 scalps, and this was probably his finest hour.
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