Sri Lanka outmuscled Bangladesh by 91 runs, providing a fitting farewell to one of the best bowlers the island nation has produced.
Lasith Malinga summed up his glorious career with two trademark dismissals in his first spell to provide his team an early advantage, defending a first innings score of 314/8. He returned at the death to cap it off by dismissing Bangladesh’s last batsman and winning Sri Lanka the game.
We take a closer look at the bowler’s performance in his last ever ODI game for his nation.
Key-stats
Overs: 9.4
Wickets: 3
Runs: 38
Maidens: 2
Economy rate: 3.93
30-second report
Malinga’s toe-crushing yorkers were on the menu for one last time at the Premadasa stadium as the veteran pacer claimed two wickets in his trademark style.
The 35-year-old dismissed openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar with almost identical yorkers. He was consistent with his line and length and used the slow-balls to good effect.
In his first spell, Malinga went for just 12 runs in five overs, two of which were maidens.
His third wicket of the night was in contrast to the first two. Malinga tricked Mustafizur Rahman with a slow, good length delivery. The youngster hoisted the ball towards extra-cover but failed to get the distance. Thisara Perera claimed the catch and provided the pacer a wicket in the last ball of his ODI career.
#ThankYouMalinga 🙏
— Sri Lanka Tweet 🇱🇰 (@SriLankaTweet) July 26, 2019
Lasith Malinga plays his farewell ODI today.
A legend of the game 💪
Yoker King 👑️
🔹Only bowler to take 4 wickets in 4 balls
🔹3 ODI hat-tricks, most among all bowlers
🔹872 Yorkers in ODIs since 2010#LKA #SriLanka #SLvBAN #Malinga pic.twitter.com/RwA7rGads6
Got right – Yorkers
The fifth ball of the innings and Malinga sends a dipping yorker at an unsuspecting Iqbal. The ball penetrates through the batsman’s defence and smashes the leg stump.
In his defence, the stand-in captain did all he could to prevent the dismissal, replying to the yorker by completely opening the face of the bat.
A few minutes later, Malinga sent Sarkar back to the pavilion in a similar fashion. The 26-year-old managed to survive two inswinging yorkers from the veteran bowler, one of which provoked an inside edge that just missed the stumps.
But Malinga struck the third time with yet another unplayable delivery getting the better of the southpaw. Yet again, Sarkar tried defending the yorker with the full face of the bat. But the craftsmanship in that delivery surpassed the ordinary and provided a moment worth capturing.
Verdict
Sri Lanka’s go-to man delivered yet again with an early breakthrough. The pacer proved to be a menace that the batsmen struggled to deal with. He was unlucky to end the game with just three wickets, with numerous top-notch deliveries either failing to carry to the keeper or missing the stumps on via an inside edge.
Nevertheless, the veteran rode into the sunset rather spectacularly, leaving huge boots to fill for the next generation.
Rating: 8/10
