OTD | Sri Lanka’s premier fast bowler Lasith Malinga was born in 1983

One of the deadliest fast bowlers in the world, former Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga was born on 28 August 1983. The island nation was once a global superpower in cricket and Malinga has played a big part in it alongside Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara.  

Born in Galle, Malinga started cricket on the beach. The Lankan legend is known for his unique bowling action and ability to nail the perfect yorkers – two things he developed at a very young age. With his raw talent, it’s no surprise that he’s made huge strides in the domestic circuit. 

An international call-up was never far from him and it eventually came during a Test series in Australia in 2004. He went on to represent Sri Lanka in red-ball cricket for another six years, playing 30 matches and picking up 101 wickets. However, it was the limited-overs format where Malinga established himself as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. 

With bleached curly hair, tattoos and pierced eyebrows, Malinga stood out as much as his bowling action, which earned him the nickname “Slinga Malinga”. Although he is famous for his toe-crushing yorkers, the Lankan star was a troublemaker with slower balls and bounces. 

Malinga has played 226 ODIs and 84 T20I for Sri Lanka. The right-arm speedster racked up 338 wickets in the 50-over format at an economy of 5.35 including eight five-wicket hauls. In the shorter format, he took 107 wickets at an average of 7.42 with a best bowling figure of 5/6. 

Notably, Malinga captained the national team in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 after Dinesh Chandimal received a ban. He successfully led the team to win the title, defeating India by six wickets in the final. He stepped down from the captaincy in 2015. 

Here are Lasith Malinga’s significant records in international cricket:

First player to take 100 wickets in T20Is

Second fastest Sri Lankan player to take 300 ODI wickets 

Fastest Sri Lankan player to 200 ODI wickets 

Second fastest Sri Lankan player to 100 ODI wickets 

Only player to take two hat-tricks in ODI World Cup

Only player to take 4 wickets in 4 balls in ODIs

Most hat-tricks in international cricket 

The only player to achieve the feat of taking four wickets in four consecutive deliveries on two separate occasions in international cricket

The first player to achieve two hat-tricks in T20 International cricket