Apr 6 (PR): Finding the greatest player in the shortest format of cricket is not an easy task. To play T20, one would need different types of skills and consistency. Experts also argue that players with a lot of innovation will be able to excel in this format.
The T20 format is mostly dominated by the batsmen, but the bowlers are not far behind as well. While forming this year's IPL team, a lot of money was spent on bowlers as they too have a significant contribution to the game.
It is still a debatable topic, about who is the greatest player in the world of T20 cricket. By looking into the records, it seems that Lasith Malinga is unarguably a good choice.
Lasith Malinga is the leading wicket-taker in the T20 cricket international format. Even Though he has achieved this position by a very narrow margin, his contributions could not be ignored. He (107) has just one wicket more than Shakib Al Hasan (106). He is the first man to take 100 wickets in the T20 format while playing against New Zealand.
He has also taken 107 wickets in the IPL tournament, which is the highest for any bowler. In 2013, he became the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the league and that increased to 150 wickets (2017) before anybody could touch his records.
“Those Yorkers are absolutely crucial and deadly,” South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi praised Malinga in the interview on Betway.
Malinga ended his career with 390 wickets in T20 cricket, and he remained the fourth-highest wicket-taker among all the bowlers. During those times, he was the leading wicket-taker in the T20 format, and he is also the first bowler to take 300 T20 wickets. He took around 195 wickets for Mumbai Indians, the most by any bowler for any team in the T20 format.
Also, Malinga’s economy rate is around 7.82 in the death overs in the IPL matches. He also created a league record by bowling 152.5 overs at the death overs of the IPL match. He conceded only 1196 runs and took around 90 wickets.
Malinga also took 37 wickets against the Chennai Super Kings IPL team, the joint-most for any player against a single opponent. The bowler is also at the top of the list for a four-and-more-wicket haul in the T20 format. He has around 15 on his name, which is genuinely great!
There were also nine instances wherein Malinga claimed wickets on successive deliveries in the IPL games. But none of these were hat tricks, which is indeed a sad instance. But when it came to T20 internationals, there were around 7 such instances of successive deliveries, out of which two turned out to be hat-tricks. He is the only bowler who has the record of multiple hat-tricks in this format.
“He actually bowled a slower Yorker on the last ball of the 20th over to win an IPL title. I mean, who would have thought that this was possible?,” Aakash Chopra quoted as saying during an interview on Betway.
These are some of the most impressive records that were created by him. With a look at his numbers, wicket-taking, and run-stopping capabilities in the T20 format of the game, it can be concluded that he is indeed one of the greatest of T20 cricket.