LEEDS: Spinners, they say, mature like fine wine. One can say the same about fast bowlers after watching
Lasith Malinga bowl with heart and passion on Friday evening.
WORLD CUP SCHEDULE | POINTS TABLEHe doesn't have the pace to rattle the batsmen or the toe-crushing yorkers any more, but the veteran pacer makes up for it with plenty of variations which keep the batsmen guessing. The yorker isn't as quick any more, but it's still lethal enough to beat the best in the business.
There was a time when the bowler with the unique hairstyle — curly, blonde streaks shining through — seemed to be fading away. He openly confessed contemplating retirement.
His IPL franchise Mumbai Indians even dumped the 35-year-old — the highest wicket-taker in the history of the IPL with 170 wickets in 122 games — from their XI in 2017, before asking him to join their support staff the next year. This year, though, has seen the fast bowler turn a corner — he is riding a second wind to bow out on a high.
His hunger and determination to do well came through at a time when workload management of cricketers is a hot topic. The Sri Lankan ace, in a rare case, played two matches inside 12 hours – a T20 game in India and a domestic 50-over match in
Sri Lanka
. After helping MI beat CSK one April night in Mumbai, he flew out early on Thursday to Kandy to take part in Sri Lanka’s domestic Super Four tournament. Not only did he play the game, Malinga even recorded career-best List A figures of 7/49 to help Galle beat Kandy!
In the IPL final this year, he gave away just 7 runs when CSK needed 9 off the final over. In 12 games overall, he took 16 wickets@27.37 to play a key role in his team’s IPL title win.
In such tremendous form, reports from Lanka said Malinga was expecting to lead the team in the World Cup, and was upset when the selectors chose opener Dimuth Karunaratne instead. He seems to have put any such disappointment behind. Realising that this surely would be his swansong 50-over event, he’s carried his superb form into the Cup.
“He’s a legend, a match-winning bowler. He possesses a lot of variation. He has the experience of playing in a lot of T20 games,” praised Jeevan Mendis. “When we went out to bowl today, he told our bowlers to use variations. He told all of us: ‘We can win this.’ He’s the captain of our bowling team.”
“He is an incredibly skillful bowler,” said Buttler. “The stumps are always in play with his release point and it is generally going to be pretty close if he hits your pads.”