Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Lasith Malinga

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Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Lasith Malinga

Separamadu Lasith Malinga (born 28 August 1983), nicknamed “Slinga Malinga”, is a Sri Lankan former cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest limited overs bowlers of all time.

Malinga grew up in modest circumstances in Rathgama, a coastal village situated 12 km northwest of Galle. He often played cricket with friends on the sand banks and coconut groves by a river in his cricket-obsessed village.

Lasith Malinga is a once-in-a-lifetime bowler. With an action that is difficult to emulate, Malinga became one of the most dangerous limited overs bowlers in international cricket. The man who had a penchant for yorkers came from a humble background in a small village to make it to the biggest stage in cricket.

Malinga is a right-arm fast bowler that is commonly used as a specialist death bowler and is well known for his distinctive round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, hence his aforementioned nickname. Malinga announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 14 September 2021. Here is a list of the top 10 remarkable facts about Lasith Malinga.

1. Lasith Malinga was Australia’s Nightmare

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On the tour to New Zealand in 2005, Malinga was so devastating that the home side had problems sighting the ball. Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain had asked the umpires to remove their ties as they would often lose the ball as it came an awkward angle. The umpires were also asked to tie a white jersey around their waist so that the batsmen sight it better.

Though Steve Bucknor complied with this, Darrel Hair refused. “We found it extremely tough when he bowled a certain line and length to pick him up. We’ve asked for the uniforms to be changed. The umpires are there to help, not hinder. I know it’s a tradition that they wear that colour, but this circumstance is pretty unique,” Fleming was quoted by the media.

2.   Malinga’s was an Inborn Talent

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Malinga started playing cricket at the age of 11 in his village of Rathgama, near Galle. Playing softball cricket on the beach, he claimed that his weird action is natural. It was only during his late teens that he started bowling with the cricket ball.

 Malinga made his First-Class debut for Galle Cricket Club in 2001 at the age of 17. In his first match, he picked up a total of eight wickets. That game featured his future teammates Jehan Mubarak and Prasanna Jayawardene.

3. Malinga the Young  Lethal Bowler

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It is said that Malinga was taken to the Sri Lankan nets to bowl in 2001, but was stopped from bowling for fear of causing injuries to the national team players. The Guardian reported Aravinda de Silva as saying,

“Around about the time we were getting ready for the 2003 World Cup I heard there was this young pace-bowler new in Colombo and how no one really wanted to bat against him, certainly none of the seniors. So I had to have a go.”

Champaka Ramanayke and Rumesh Ratnayke were Malinga’s mentors through his young days. In an interview with Cricinfo, Malinga said that Ramanayake tried to change his action, but was unsuccessful hence they had to settle for the slinging action.

4. Lasith Malinga was the Sri Lankan T20 World Cup Captain 2014

Sri Lanka had a near-perfect campaign at the T20 World Cup in 2014 which was played in Bangladesh. Lasith Malinga led the island nation to their first-ever T20 World Cup title and their second major trophy after the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1996.

Sri Lanka was parched for an ICC tournament victory, they made it to the finals on a number of occasions but failed under the pressure in the ultimate game. Malinga broke the jinx as he led his team successfully in the 2014 World Twenty20 (T20) in Bangladesh and emerged victorious after defeating India in the final.

5. Lasith Malinga was Discovered and Mentored by Champaka Ramanayake

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Their story goes way back to 1999, Separamadu Lasith Malinga was a scraggy kid of 16 when he attended a fast bowling talent search. He would have never thought that his fortune would change. Champaka Ramanayaka the then Captain, Coach and Manager of the Galle Cricket club was the man who was conducting this talent search.

Picking the ball Malinga ran in and bowled at Champaka and he couldn’t see the ball or had no clue what this kid was bowling. Only a matter of few deliveries and Champaka was impressed, he saw potential in Malinga and decided to pick the kid for his Galle team. Lasith obliged and he was soon seen at practices and at 16 he was seen sending down balls at around 135kmph.

Malinga is among those few cricketers who are superstitious on the field. On the top of his run-up, Malinga kisses the ball.

6. Malinga is the Only Bowler to have Two Hat-tricks in the World Cup along with 4 in 4

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Malinga has a number of records to his name, for instance, he is the only bowler to have claimed a couple of hat-tricks in a prestigious tournament like World Cup. In the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, Malinga ran through the South African line-up as he picked his first career hat-trick.

Moreover, he claimed four South African scalps in four consecutive deliveries. Later, he decimated Kenya in the 2011 World Cup at Colombo and claimed his second hat-trick to become the only bowler to have accomplished such a feat. His third hat-trick came against Australia later that year.

7. Lasith Malinga is also a Talented Batsman

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Malinga was very effective with the bat lower down the order. Although his batting figures did not suggest so,  he was well capable of hitting massive sixes.

Lasith Malinga won multiple matches for Mumbai Indians and Sri Lanka with the bat. He shouldered the middle-order responsibilities with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was a solid lower-order batter for the Indian cricket team. Tim Southee, who smashed lots of sixes in Test cricket and proven match-winner James Faulkner played the role of the finishers.

8.  Malinga was Voted the Sexiest Cricketer

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During the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, Malinga made a mark on the world stage and became a known figure in cricket. His hairstyle became his identity, the long curls streaked with colour.

It was during that World Cup that he was named the sexiest man in cricket by a Barbados-based magazine named Easy. Malinga won accolades for his cricket during that World Cup, but this one may have been the least expected one.

Malinga’s crazy hairstyle, piercings and a lot of accessories along with the stylishly applied sunscreen made him a stand-out cricketer. Malinga has a tattoo on his right arm which displays the date of his Test debut and he also has inked his body with the date when he took four wickets in four deliveries against South Africa.

9.   Malinga’s Unforgetable Blistering Pace

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During his heydays Malinga generated a scorching pace. He consistently bowls between 140-150 Kph.

Lasith Malinga or Slinga Malinga gets his speed from his slingy action which sends the ball at very high-speed with a swing. He is known to have a great slower ball as well and an excellent inswinging yorker to boot for.

His fastest delivery of 155.7 Kph was bowled against New Zealand in a 2011 World Cup match in Mumbai.

10.  Malinga was Cricket’s Shorter Format Specialist

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His skilful bowling along with deadly toe-crushing yorkers makes him one of the most formidable T20 bowlers. He has represented a number of T20 teams across the globe — Mumbai Indians (MI), Ruhuna Royals, Melbourne Stars, Dhaka Gladiators and Southern Express.

Malinga has been a mainstay for the Mumbai Indians (MI) since inception. He picked up 28 wickets in 16 outings and claimed the purple cap for being the leading wicket taker in the tournament.

Malinga  dismissed seven batsmen, six times in international cricket. That list includes big names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Shahid Afridi, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Shane Watson. However, he was most successful against Bangladesh batsmen Shahriar Nafees and Javed Omar. Nafees fell to Malinga six times in 11 matches, whereas Omar was dismissed six times in seven matches.