28/08/2022
in 1983: The birth of a human slingshot. Lasith Malinga propelled himself to fame during the 2007 World Cup, where his extraordinary round-arm exocets helped carry Sri Lanka all the way to the final in Barbados against the eventual champions, Australia. Along the way he proved irresistible at times, not least against South Africa in Guyana, when he grabbed four wickets in consecutive deliveries. He took six on Test debut in Darwin in 2004 and nine in Napier in 2005 but in 2007, a knee injury forced him out of cricket for nine months. On his return, he stuck to limited-overs cricket and made a Test comeback only in 2010 when he joined the 100-wickets club. In April 2011, he finally quit Tests to preserve himself for the shorter formats. It worked out well when later that year he became the first bowler to take three hat-tricks - this one against Australia in Colombo.
