Lasith Malinga's ODI swansong was a fitting tribute to a great Sri Lankan career

A fifth ODI century for Kusal Perera helped post a first innings score of 314/8, one that Malinga made a ceremonious contribution to with his unbeaten six runs.

Leading the bowling attack for one last time, the 35-year-old took on the new ball and gave his side the perfect start by dismissing Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal with an absolute ripper in the opening over.

The left-hander was beaten all ends up by a delivery that can be described in one of two ways. The perfect in-swinging yorker or a Malinga special.

Iqbal stood no chance as the ball homed in threateningly at his toes and his feeble attempts to position his bat in their place only served to knock him off balance as he hit the deck with the bails dislodged behind him. Vintage Malinga.

It was clearly an emotionally charged encounter for the veteran who celebrated wildly as if it were his maiden scalp. His bowling on the day was noticeably intense, featuring a series of yorkers and bouncers, knowing full well that his aging body would no longer have to endure the demands of a 50-over match beyond this.

He bowled with great vigour as if determined to take another wicket, just one more, with every ball. That approach led to few wayward deliveries but an economic first spell would yield another classic.

While Iqbal was perhaps caught off guard, there can be no excuse for his opening partner. Having escaped two yorkers, nearly dragging one onto his stumps with an inside edge, Soumya Sarkar naively attempted to drive another full-pitched delivery.

Of course, it was no juicy half-volley or loose full toss. Malinga was on the money again. There was no driving that delivery and another batsman returned to the pavilion with his stumps rattled.

It was fitting that Malinga’s swansong should hit all the right notes and that his trademark yorkers feature prominently.

Prior to this game, he had already bowled 1,018 yorkers in ODIs according to cricviz.com. The bowler closest to that mark is Tim Southee with 390.

Those precise yorkers are responsible for Malinga’s best moments. Think back to World Cup 2007 when he destroyed the South African lower order with a fierce spell, taking four wickets in four balls.

As the years passed, that lethal pace slowly faded away with injuries inevitably taking a toll. An already underwhelming run up was reduced to a slow jog and while the yorker remained his most potent weapon, a new level of guile sustained his international career.

And as that repertoire of variations has served him so well in recent years, so it did again on Friday at the Premadasa Stadium.

Bangladesh were on their knees with nine wickets down and the vociferous crowd encouraged Malinga to strike the killer blow. Into his final over, the yorkers had lost their zing and so the experienced pacer reached into his bag of tricks.

Determined to go down swinging, Mustafizur Rahman slashed at another delivery, failing to read the subtle change in pace. The slower ball was skied and Thisara Perera made no mistake with his catch just outside the inner circle.

Malinga raised his arms in the air, grateful for his third wicket. His figures of 3/38 drew a strange symmetry with the fact that it saw him end with 338 ODI wickets, a tally that took him above Anil Kumble into ninth on the all-time list.

“I feel it’s the right time for me to retire from ODIs,” Malinga said in his post-match comments.

And so to Sri Lanka’s next great bowling talent…

You don’t need to reveal yourself this instance. You don’t have to be the new Malinga or Muttiah Muralitharan. You shouldn’t be expected to scale similar heights.

But please, make sure you have a uniquely iconic bowling action.