Just like Upul Tharanga was one of the best opening batters for Sri Lanka in the past 15 years, Suranga Lakmal was one of the best fast bowlers for Sri Lanka In the same time period. He is mostly remembered for one bad thing but that should not put a dark light on his great career. He has played a lot of Test and ODI Cricket for Sri Lanka. He has played 70 Test Matches and in those test matches he has taken 171 Wickets at an average of 36.44. He has taken 4 Five Wicket Hauls in Test Cricket. He has also played 86 ODIs and he has taken 109 Wickets.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Bowling Performances of Suranga Lakmal
1) 4/26 and 3/93 vs India (2017)
This was one of the best overall performances by Suranga Lakmal in a test match and this was against India when they were at the top. Suranga Lakmal Bowled an excellent spell in the first innings where he bowled 19 overs in the innings and took 4 wickets for just 26 runs which is just over 1 run per over. This was truly one of his best ever spells of fast bowling. India did not know what hit them. And he was not finished as he again took 3 wickets for 93 runs in the second batting innings. The match was a draw but this was a memorable performance at an iconic ground.
2) 4/39 vs South Africa (2019)
This was one of his best overseas bowling performances which led to a big win for Sri Lanka. Suranga Lakmal was in fine form at this time and in this test match he was at his best in the second batting innings of South Africa. He bowled 16.3 overs and he took 4 wickets for just 39 runs at over 2 runs per over. Due to this spell Sri Lanka needed just 197 runs to win this test match which they easily did and they won by 8 Wickets. Suranga Lakmal is very proud of this performance.
3) 4/29 vs New Zealand (2019)
This match winning performance came right after the one where Sri Lanka beat South Africa at their home. New Zealand came to Sri Lanka and Suranga Lakmal Bowled another great spell , this time in the first batting innings of New Zealand. Suranga Lakmal Bowled for 15.2 overs in this spell and he gave away only 29 runs for his 4 wickets which is less than 2 runs per over. This was a Career defining spell and this allowed Sri Lanka to win this match by 6 Wickets.
4) 4/30 vs England (2014)
This was his first 4 Wicket Haul in ODI Cricket and it was a match winning one. Sri Lanka made 292 in this match and England needed 293 to win and Suranga Lakmal was at his best. He bowled 8 overs in this match and he took 4 wickets for 30 runs which is less than 4 runs per over. In an ODI Match where runs were made at 6 per over for him to concede so less and win the match for Sri Lanka by 90 runs was a special effort. He showed that he was made for ODI Cricket as well.
5) 4/13 vs India (2017)
This was a match where India did not show up at all and it was all Sri Lanka. India Batted first and Suranga Lakmal was at his imperious best as he bowled 10 overs and he only gave away 13 runs which is a mind boggling 1.3 runs per over in an ODI Match. These kinds of figures do not happen even in a test match. This was a day where India were all out for 112 runs and Sri Lanka won this match by 7 wickets. Suranga Lakmal was showing that he still had what it takes to play at the highest level.
Also Read | Who was the best batter for Sri Lanka
