He may not speak fluent English, but Lasith Malinga can certainly make the ball talk
He may not speak fluent English, but Lasith Malinga can certainly make the ball talk.
After having missed Sri Lanka's first two matches of the World Cup due to a back injury, the slinger made his maiden appearance at the biggest stage in front of his home crowd.
Though the R Premadasa crowd wasn't chanting "Maaalinga, Maaalinga" like the spectators at Wankhede or Brabourne Stadium when he represented Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, the near-packed stands were doing their best to egg the comeback man on to deliver a special performance.
And Malinga responded by returning career-best figures of six for 38 that included three-off-three which made him the first bowler to register two hat-tricks in World Cup. But more than celebrating his stupendous feat that set up Sri Lanka's nine-wicket victory over minnows Kenya, Malinga was happy to have overcome the frustration of watching his teammates from the balcony over the last week.
"It was frustrating," Malinga said after receiving the man-of-the-match award. "I was upset that I could not play the first two matches. I felt fit to play in those matches, but MRI scans revealed that I needed some more rest before coming back. So, the team management decided to give me an extended break."
Malinga, who was brought up in Rathgama, a village that is 12 kms away from Galle, was first noticed by former Sri Lanka opening bowler Champaka Ramanayake, who is from Galle. And once Ramanayake brought Malinga to the national capital, the rest, as they say, is history.
However, with no formal training during his grooming years and his unorthodox round-arm action, Malinga has been prone to injuries. Even while enjoying one of his career highlights, the 27-year-old didn't forget to mention those who have helped his during the worst of times.u00a0 "I have worked a lot with Ramanayake (current Sri Lanka fast bowling coach) and other Sri Lankan coaches. I also watch a lot of videos of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram and that is useful," said Malinga. With Malinga's precision with toe-crushing yorkers, all his mentors would have felt nothing but proud.
