Malinga retires from all forms of cricket; SA seal clean sweep with resounding win
Fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who led Sri Lanka to victory at the 2014 Twenty20 World Cup, on Tuesday quit T20 internationals to complete his retirement as a player.
The 38-year-old, one of the most successful limited over bowlers of all time with his distinctive ‘sling’ action, said he would now devote himself to supporting the next generation of cricketers.
Malinga, who was dropped for Sri Lanka’s current T20 series against South Africa, had been considering giving up since leading the team when it lost 2-0 to India in January last year.
“I have decided to retire from T20I cricket marking my retirement from all formats of cricket,” he said on his Facebook page.
“But, I will be continuously supporting the younger generations,” he added.
“While my shoes will rest, my love for the game will never ask for rest.”
Malinga has been a top atraction at the Indian Premier League and other limited overs tournaments around the world.
His greatest moment, however, was leading Sri Lanka to the T20 World Cup title in Bangladesh in 2014.
Sri Lanka beat India by six wickets in the final, with Malinga frustrating the Indian batsmen with yorkers in the death overs.
Malinga is the leading all-time T20 international wicket-taker with 107 scalps. He took 338 wickets in one-day internationals, making him one of the top 10 bowlers in the format.
He is the only bowler with two World Cup hattricks to his name and one of only two players to have taken four wickets in four consecutive balls in international cricket.
Malinga has not played a match since leading Sri Lanka in a T20 series against West Indies in March last year. His side lost the series and in his final game he failed to get any wickets in his three overs that cost 46 runs.
In November, he backed out of the inaugural Lanka Premier League, saying he had not had enough practice to take part.
His return to the top job in December 2018 had been a surprise as he had suffered several injuries that had forced him to sit out several tournaments.
He retired from one-day internationals in July 2019 ater a career that began in 2004. His last Test was in 2010, ater which he gave up to concentrate on limited overs cricket.
SOUTH AFRICA DEMOLISH SRI LANKA TO SWEEP T20 SERIES: Inspired bowling and unbeaten fities from Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks helped South Africa sweep the Twenty20 series 3-0 against Sri Lanka with a crushing 10-wicket win in Colombo on Tuesday.
Chasing 121 for victory, South Africa romped home in 14.4 overs with De Kock on 59 and Hendricks making 56 in the third T20 in Colombo.
Visiting bowlers Bjorn Fortuin and Kagiso Rabada took two wickets each to restrict Sri Lanka to 120-8 ater the hosts elected to bat first.
The Proteas extended their winning streak to seven in T20 matches. They had clinched their third straight series in the shortest format with victory in the second match.
De Kock and Hendricks put on South Africa’s highest T20 partnership of 121 for any wicket against Sri Lanka in another show of dominance ater their previous nine-wicket win.
De Kock, a let-hand wicketkeeper-batsman who hit a match-winning 58 in the second T20, raised his fity in 40 balls and took the atack to the opposition bowlers.
Hendricks recorded his seventh T20 half-century and hit five fours and one six in his 42-ball knock.
South Africa’s bowlers set up the win ater Rabada ratled the top order with his pace. He sent back Avishka Fernando for 12 and bowled Bhanuka Rajapaksa for five. Fortuin got two key wickets including Dhananjaya de Silva, stumped for one, and Wanindu Hasaranga, out for four, to return figures of 2-21 with his let-arm spin.
Opener Kusal Perera top-scored with 39 before falling to skipper and let-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who trapped the wicketkeeper-batsman lbw.
Sri Lanka slipped to 86-7 before number nine Chamika Karunaratne hit an unbeaten 24 off 19 balls to give the team total some respect as he finished the innings with a six.
Inspired bowling and unbeaten fities from Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks helped South Africa sweep the Twenty20 series 3-0 against Sri Lanka with a crushing 10-wicket win in Colombo on Tuesday