All eyes will be on Lasith Malinga when hosts Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh in the first ODI in Colombo on Friday.
The clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium will mark the final Sri Lanka ODI appearance for Malinga with the veteran set to bring down the curtain on a glittering career in the 50-over format.
The 35-year-old will go down as one of the modern-day greats of limited-overs cricket with his seaming yorkers and cleverly disguised slower delivery bowled from a sling-arm action giving batsmen plenty of nightmares over the years.
As Malinga gets ready for his ODI swansong, we look back at his ODI career’s excellent numbers and numerous highlights.
ODI STATS
Matches: 225
Wickets: 335
Average: 29.02
Five-wicket hauls: 8
Best figures: 6-38 vs Kenya (2011 ICC World Cup)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
ODI debut against UAE
The Galle-born pacer’s ODI debut came in a 2004 Asia Cup clash between hosts Sri Lanka and the UAE in Dambulla. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 239 runs with Malinga remaining unbeaten on five.
The then 20-year-old opened the new-ball attack along with Nuwan Zoysa and finished with figures of 1-39 from his 10 overs as Sri Lanka completed a 116-run win.
Malinga shattered the stumps of UAE skipper Khurram Khan for his maiden ODI scalp.
The UAE’s Khurram Khan was Malinga’s first ODI victim.
Four wickets in row
Malinga created a new world record in the 2007 World Cup clash against South Africa by picking up four wickets in consecutive deliveries.
He performed the rare feat in the Super Eight clash in Guyana and remains the only man to do so in ODI history.
The pacer dismissed Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini in successive deliveries in the 45th and 47th overs of South Africa’s innings.
Despite Malinga’s sensational effort, he still ended up on the losing side with the Proteas clinching a thrilling victory with one wicket to spare in their chase of 210.
Who'll ever forget the time Malinga took four wickets in four balls against South Africa in the 2007 @cricketworldcup!?
— ICC (@ICC) July 23, 2019
Is it your favourite memory of Malinga in ODI cricket? pic.twitter.com/WO0SPKFCij
King of hat-tricks
The hat-trick against the Proteas is not the only World Cup hat-trick completed by Malinga with the pacer bagging another one in the 2011 edition. In a home clash in Colombo for the co-hosts, the fast bowler picked up three wickets in row on the way to his best-ever ODI display.
Once again, Malinga’s hat-trick came in two separate overs with Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche being his three victims. The pacer went on to finish with career-best figures of 6-39 as Sri Lanka romped home to a six-wicket win against Kenya.
He is the only bowler so far to have picked up more than one World Cup hat-trick.
The Sri Lanka stalwart is also the sole bowler to grab three ODI hat-tricks overall in his career with his third one coming against Australia in 2011 as well. That hat-trick came in the fifth ODI against the Aussies in Colombo with Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Xavier Doherty being the three batsmen to be dismissed.
He has a T20I hat-trick to his name as well for good measure.
Most Hat-tricks in ODIs:
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) June 29, 2019
3 - Malinga
2 - Saqlain
2 - Vaas
2 - Akram
2 - Boult*
Only these bowlers have taken more than one hat-trick in ODI history!
Malinga turns hero with the bat at MCG
In the first ODI between Australia and Sri Lanka in Melbourne in November, 2010, Malinga turned saviour with the bat for his side.
Having been set a target of 240 to win by the Aussies, Sri Lanka found themselves reeling at 107-8 before Malinga walked in to bat. The right-hander turned the game around in the company of Angelo Matthews with the duo putting on a match-winning stand of 132 runs for the ninth wicket.
Sri Lanka were just four runs away when Malinga was finally dismissed with the pacer registering his only ODI fifty to date in the clash.
World Cup legend
While it did not quite turn out to be a successful campaign for Sri Lanka at the 2019 World Cup, Malinga did his legacy no harm with the veteran rising to the occasion.
He finished the tournament with 13 wickets which has taken his overall tally in World Cups to 56. He is now only behind Australia’s Glenn McGrath (71) and compatriot Muttiah Muralitharan (68) in the World Cup wicket-taking charts.
Top 10 all-time wicket-taker
With 335 wickets to his name so far, Malinga is the third most prolific Sri Lankan in ODI history and 10th overall. Only Muralitharan (534) and Chaminda Vaas (400) have taken more ODI wickets than Malinga among his compatriots.
Should he pick up three wickets in his farewell appearance on Friday, Malinga will finish ahead of India’s Anil Kumble in ninth spot overall in the wicket-taking charts.
That he will be playing on his favourite stomping ground bodes well for Malinga’s chances to do so. He has previously picked up 49 ODI wickets at the venue at an average of nearly 25.
