Lasith Malinga proves he is still Sri Lanka’s master of the round-arm fling. He emerged as the star in Sri Lanka’s stunning 20-run World Cup win over England at Headingley on Friday.
Sri Lanka was Chasing 233 for victory on a slow track, England struggled against veteran Malinga’s variations before they fell to their second defeat of the tournament.
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Malinga finished with figures of 4-43 and became the fourth bowler to capture 50 or more wickets in the competition after Australia’s Glenn McGrath (71), his fellow citizen Muttiah Muralitharan (68) and Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (55).
After his stunning performance, former cricketers, experts, and fans are full of praises for Malinga over the social media:
Brilliant stuff from Sri Lanka.
What they didn't do with the bat, they more than compensated with the ball.
Malinga and Co. were disciplined & troubled the batsmen.
With England still needing to play Australia, New Zealand & India, the #CWC19 may throw up a few surprises.#ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/T4mHATZiz2— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 21, 2019
Sensational defence of a small total. Sri Lanka making the world cup interesting.
Whats next guys? #ENGvSL #CWC19— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 21, 2019
Well Done Sri Lanka … Fantastic spirit showed today … Lasith Malinga take a bow … Magnificent display … !! #CWC19
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 21, 2019
What magical bowling performance from @OfficialSLC 👏👏👏 Great stuff gents! The ‘old gun slinger’ a fab four-fa 👊🏻😬😎Well done Lasith 😃 #Headingleyhappiness @cricketworldcup
— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) June 21, 2019
Congratulations Srilanka .. what a brilliant bowling performance !!#LionsRoar #CWC19
— Sanath Jayasuriya (@Sanath07) June 21, 2019
Take note guys !!!!! https://t.co/A1t0lolucS
— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) June 21, 2019
Brilliant from Sri Lanka. England showing a soft underbelly in chases? Delighted for Malinga.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 21, 2019
What a performance by @OfficialSLC great win inspired bowling by lasith Malinga and danajaya de silva . WOW. Hope this is the catalyst for the team to believe even more. Now for the batsmen to respond with heart
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) June 21, 2019
The tournament is alive… #CWC19 #ENGvSL
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) June 21, 2019
4/43 Malinga proved again "Old is gold'. Well led his bowling unit too. Brilliant stuff, legend. #ENGvSL
— Aalia Rasheed (@aaliaaaliya) June 21, 2019
What a win @OfficialSLC . @Lasith99Malinga u beauty. Great team work .
— Salman Butt (@im_SalmanButt) June 21, 2019
Unbelievable stuff from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
The Lankan bowlers especially Malinga was superb from the start.
Kudos to @OfficialSLC!
The #CWC19 just got interesting.#ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/eYFY74xetd— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) June 21, 2019
Excellent performance from Sri Lanka to beat England.
England have India, Australia and New Zealand to play with and will have to win 2 out of these 3.
World Cup is alive #EngvSL— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 21, 2019
Well done Sri Lanka. Fantastic win. Malinga and Matthews, showing what experience can do in crunch situations. Makes the table interesting #ENGvSL
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) June 21, 2019
Great win by #srilanka no one gave them chance to win against the mighty English team. Malinga was at his best with the new ball as well old. #ENGvsSL #WorldCup
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 21, 2019
What a thrilling game today! In-form Malinga's 4 for 43 leads Srilanka to a convincing victory. Well deserved, Srilanka. The second half of the tournament is getting tight. #ENGVSL #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/QS5Hn4m0Ni
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) June 21, 2019
Wake up & check the cricket scores #CWC19……@OfficialSLC what an amazing win 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Glad to see the very wise #Malinga producing one of his best to beat the front runners #Eng.
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) June 21, 2019
What a game of cricket. Don’t underestimated Sri Lankan’s( lions). Any time they can bounced back. What performances by @Angelo69Mathews @KusalMendis1 and Avishka from bat. Lasith always unstoppable. Nuwan and @IAmIsuru17 and @Dhananjaya7575. @MichaelVaughan @KP24 @OfficialSLC
— Dhammika Prasad (@imDhammika) June 21, 2019
The tournament is alive… #CWC19 #ENGvSL
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) June 21, 2019
What was it?
*Is it the 49 by Avishka Fernando?
*46 by Kusal Mendis?
*85* by Angelo Mathews?
*4 wickets by Malinga?
*3 wickets by Dhananjaya de Silva?NO, IT'S A TEAM EFFORT. THIS IS A LESSON FOR ALL!#SLvENG
— Asanka Hadirampela (@HadiraAsanka) June 21, 2019
BOOM! One of the greatest Sri Lanka wins. The wounded lion hunt down No1 ODI team. Sensational innings from Angelo, KMendis & Avishka brilliant captaincy from Dimuth & DDS, Malinga outstanding with ball. This is Sri Lanka cricket, NEVER SAY DIE, NEVER GIVE UP! #SLvENG #LionsRoar
— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) June 21, 2019
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