RUTHLESS LASITH MALINGA TAKES FOUR IN FOUR AGAINST NEW ZEALAND IN T20 MATCH IN PALLEKELE.
Lasith Malinga has been one of the pivotal parts of Sri Lankan cricket history. The veteran pacer knows how to bring the best out of him in pressure situations. The right-arm fast bowler is one of the world’s best fast bowlers.
Be it death overs, powerplay overs, Malinga’s deliveries weaved magic for the team. Malinga led the Sri Lankan 2014 T20 World Cup-winning side. The specialist-death bowler is well-known for his distinctive round-arm action.
It is also referred to as sling action and thus earned the nickname, ‘Slinga Malinga’. His unorthodox bowling action, in-swinging yorkers, lower slower ball yorkers have often given him the best results.
MALINGA BECOMES ONLY BOWLER TO TAKE FOUR WICKETS IN FOUR BALLS
Malinga is also best-known for claiming consecutive wickets. He is the only pacer in the game to have taken two World Cup hat-tricks. Malinga is also the only bowler to have bagged three hat-tricks in the 50-over format.
The veteran is also the only player to have taken four wickets in four consecutive deliveries. Interestingly, he has done it twice. First, he picked four in four against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.
Then again, he repeated his prowess to register the same feat. He claimed four wickets in four balls during the T20 match against New Zealand. Malinga rattled New Zealand batting order at Pallekele.
MALINGA’S BOWLING HEROICS DENY NEW ZEALAND T20 SWEEP
Sri Lanka registered a 37-run win in the third Twenty20 match of the series. Malinga’s efforts denied New Zealand T20 sweep. The experienced bowler registered a record bowling figures of 5/6. It is his career-best in the shortest form of the game.
New Zealand were aiming for a 3-0 clean sweep. Chasing 126, the Black Caps started losing momentum after Malinga’s sensational bowling. After reaching 15, the Kiwis lost their first wicket. Malinga got rid of Colin Munro to take his 100th T20 wicket.
The veteran dismantled Kiwis’ top order as he accounted for three of the four players to make first-ball ducks. Malinga dismissed Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor.
Colin Munro got out for 12 runs. Soon after his departure, Rutherford, de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor fell prey to Malinga’s tactics. Thus, Malinga became the first bowler in T20 history to take two hat-tricks. This is quite a phenomenal record.
Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan was the first bowler to bag four wickets of consecutive deliveries in a T20I match. He achieved the feat against Ireland in 2019.
The post Watch: Lasith Malinga Bags four wickets in four balls against New Zealand appeared first on The12thMan.
