Biography of Lasith Malinga:- Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan player who was born on 28th August 1983 in Galle, Sri Lanka. Lasith Malinga is smart and quick, he had a stock full of deliveries every time he landed on the ground.
His Malinga Slinga action of bowling Yorkers and slower ones, and sometimes his trademark fast bouncers that troubled the batsmen in Asian and Australian pitches alike. The unique bowling action made it even harder to read the length and shine of ball.
Biography of Lasith Malinga
- Born:- 28 August 1983 (age 33), Galle, Sri Lanka
- Height:- 1.73 m
- Career Start:- 2001
- Spouse:- Tanya Perera (m. 2010)
- Bowling Style:- Right-arm fast-medium
- Current Teams:- Sri Lanka national cricket team (#99)
Malinga rarely missed any International game for his bad form since 2015 when he was troubled by back-to-back injuries leading to his severe form afterward.
See Also: Biography of Tillakaratne Dilshan
Malinga was discovered by his college coach, and soon he was the leading bowler in the regional championships. Champaka Ramanayake was the one who refined Malinga into a jewel recognized by every cricket playing nation as the best in swinging bowler of the era.
Malinga made his ODI and Test debut in 2004; he is currently the 4th fastest bowler along with the South African pace Master Dale Steyn. He has near-perfect accuracy when bowling the full-length deliveries, a skill he utilized best in IPL.
Malinga is third fastest for Sri Lanka to reach 100 wickets in International Cricket; his injuries in 2008 left him short by two years. There were chants regarding his suspicious bowling actions but was cleared by ICC as he met all the conditions required for a genuine bowling style.
In ICC WT20 2014, Malinga was made captain for a short duration but was better known for his deadly Yorkers to win the tournament for Sri Lanka. His brutal bowling spells made Indian middle order tumble to ashes in the playoffs.
In ICC World Cup 2015, Malinga wasn’t impressive enough and diminished after the World Cup. He made another comeback in 2017 with a smearing pace and a bucket full of innovative deliveries.
Lasith Malinga Stats & Records
Malinga started his first-class career in 2001; he played four consecutive seasons for Galle until his selection in the ODI and Test squad. Malinga, since 2004 has been representing the famous Nondescripts Cricket Club.
In 30 test games, Malinga grabbed a total of 101 wickets with a bowling average of 33.15, three 5-wicket hauls and best bowling figures of 5/50 and atop score of 64.
In 191 ODIs, Malinga remained highest wicket taker and the spearhead of Sri Lankan pace attack with 291 wickets overall and a bowling average of 27.77 and seven 5-wicket hauls.
His best bowling figures were 6 wickets for 38 runs. In 65 T20 Internationals, Malinga took 84 wickets with a bowling average of 19.96 that included a five-wicket haul and the best bowling figures of 5/31.
In 246 List A games, Malinga took 382 wickets with an overall LA bowling average of 26.87 and 8 five-wicket hauls.
International Career
Malinga made his ODI debut against the United Arab Emirates in 2004; it was his promising bowling in the Test series against Australia a month before ODI debut.
Against Australia, Malinga took six wickets on his debut. He was praised in the test series for his accuracy and unorthodox bowling style. Soon after a brilliant start, Lasith Malinga improved his pace and precision, especially the Yorker and the slower ones. In the next three years, Malinga utilized his pace and swing to become one of the most dangerous bowlers in ICC WT20 2007. In cricket World Cup 2007, Malinga was phenomenal with the speed and variations he possessed.
Against South Africa, Malinga took his first-ever hat trick taking 4 wickets in four consecutive deliveries, first-ever by any ODI bowler. Malinga took his second hat-trick against the minnows Kenya, this time again in ICC World Cup 2011.
Lasith Malinga became the first ever bowler to complete two hat-tricks in ODI World Cups. Later in August 2011, Malinga had another hat-trick becoming the first International bowler to take three hat-tricks in an International career.
In March 2016, Malinga was severely injured and left all forms of International and domestic cricket for a year and a half.
Sri Lanka was losing every limited-over’s series in the absence of Malinga and due to unavailability of Sanga and Mahela Jayawardene. Malinga made a comeback in early 2017 against Australia with two wickets and two catches.
T20 Career
Malinga was the most accurate bowler in the first-ever ICC World T20 in 2007. He had always been known for his economic death bowling. In 2012, Malinga was made T20 captain for Sri Lanka. In ICC WT20 2014, Lasith Malinga captained the ICC Champions, their first-ever T20 World Cup win.
IPL Career
Lasith Malinga has always been the hottest pick in all the IPL tournaments; he is still the highest wicket taker in all the seasons of the competition. Since 2009, Lasith Malinga has competed in 6 seasons of the league and took 143 wickets in 98 matches he played in IPL.
He couldn’t participate in the first season of the IPL 2008 due to the recurring knee injury that troubled him for the next few seasons. He had everything needing for a devastating bowler; he was fully equipped with Yorkers and bouncers, the slower ones and the reverse swingers he bowled in the later part of innings.
Mumbai Indians was the best bowler in IPL 2009 season; he took 18 wickets in 13 matches in an unbelievable bowling average of 17.33. In IPL 2010, Mumbai Indians wererunners-up in the tournament for the first time, thanks to Malinga’s brilliance of handling pressure situations.
In IPL 2014 that was won by Mumbai Indians, Lasith Malinga took 24 wickets in 15 games with an average of 18.50.
International Leagues
Malinga joined Australia’s Big Bash League 2012-13 playing for Melbourne Stars where his best figures in T20 cricket came in a match against Perth Scorchers, he took 6 wickets giving away 7 runs that are still the only 6-wicket haul in BBL history. Malinga played a season for Kent in 2007 and later contested for Southern Express in 2014.
Lasith Malinga Family & Personal Life
Lasith Malinga married an Australian-Sri Lankan banker and media figure Tanya Perera in January 2010 at Waters’ Edge Hotel Galle. Their daughter was born on 9th September 2011.
