Lasith Malinga is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. He has completed a decade in international cricket and the first thing that springs to our minds when his name is being mentioned is his lethal yorkers. His impact particularly in the shorter formats has been so immense that he has been considered the go-to man for all the teams he has represented around the world. Here are five of his best performances.
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4 in 4 vs South Africa (2007)
This was one of the most memorable bowling performances of Lasith Malinga. This performance came in a losing cause but it will still be ranked as the best bowling performance ever for Sri Lanka. It was a super eight fixture of the 2007 world cup between South Africa and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka made just 209 runs batting first against proteas. It was a comfortable run chase for the Proteas and at one point they needed just four runs from 32 deliveries with five wickets in hand. Then suddenly there was a twist in the game as we all know cricket is an unpredictable game. Malinga weaved his magic by nicking out four wickets in four consecutive deliveries that sent the entire South African dressing room into a state of shock. But their last wicket pair managed to get the remaining runs in the end, but only just. Malinga shared the Man of the Match award with South Africa's Charl Langeveldt.
5 for 34 against Pakistan (2010)
It was the first match of the 2010 Asia Cup and what a game of twists and turns it was, with Malinga providing the crucial knockout blows in the end to hand Sri Lanka a 16 run win while defending 242. In his first spell, he removed Salman Butt and Umar Amin. During his final spell, the game had reached its climax with Pakistan requiring 26 runs off six overs with Abdul Razzaq being one of the batsmen. He removed the tail-enders one by one and clinched a memorable win for the Lankans.
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5 for 50 vs India (2010)
This test was the last test of Muttiah Muralitharan. This test made all the headlines being Muralitharan's farewell test. This was also a comeback test for Lasith malinga as he was playing a test match after 3 years. In this test match, Muralitharan picked 8 wickets to complete his tally of 800 test wickets. Lasith malinga also scalped 5 wickets in his comeback test getting the prized wickets of Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar and Dhoni to help Sri Lanka achieve a thumping win over their neighbors.
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5 for 52 vs Pakistan (2014)
The 2014 Asia Cup in Bangladesh had Sri Lanka and Pakistan playing the first match and it happened to be a thriller. Batting first, Sri Lanka made a commanding 296 in their 50 overs. In reply, Pakistan was struggling at 121 for 4, but that’s where Umar Akmal and Captain Misbah started the recovery at one point the runs started coming very fast and Pakistan was well on course to win the game. Slinga Malinga, who had 3 overs up his sleeve, came in and picked Afridi and Misbah in the same over and finished with a 5-wicket haul to seal a dramatic Lankan win.
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5 for 31 vs England (2012)
Five wickets in a T20 is one of the most remarkable feats a bowler can ever achieve and Lasith did exactly that against England in the T20 World Cup in 2012. Chasing 170 to win, Malinga derailed the chase as early as in the 3rd over when he picked three wickets to hand the Lankans an early initiative. Samit Patel was England’s lone warrior that night and Malinga came back in the 19th over to pick him as well along with England’s slim hopes. He was rightfully named the player of the match.
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