3 Lasith Malinga records Matheesha Pathirana can break in the IPL
Lasith Malinga had an incredible career in IPL cricket. The Sri Lankan pacer picked up 170 wickets in 122 matches across nine seasons. He had an impressive average of 19.85 and an astounding economy rate of 7.16 in the cash-rich league.
He was exceptional in the death overs and contributed immensely to the success of his franchise, the Mumbai Indians (MI), winning four titles with the team, in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Matheesha Pathirana has modeled his bowling action on his legendary compatriot. His low-slinging bowling action makes it difficult for the batsmen to pick up and has tasted success in his brief IPL career to date.
In eight matches this season, Pathirana has picked up nine wickets at an average of 27.22 and a strike rate of 20.11. His economy rate of 8.12 is slightly on the higher side but the same is likely to improve with time and Pathirana is likely to have more control over his line and length upon gaining more experience.
Scott Styris recently heaped praises on the young Sri Lankan pacer. The former Kiwi all-rounder stated:
"I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga. I accept that it's a massive call because he's too early in his career. He's not as accurate as Malinga yet, but Malinga was at his best when he was bowling at 145kph. And he only had about three or four years where that was the case. When he had that speed, and then the change-ups came, you had to respect that pace. When his top speed was down to 135, you could probably look at the slower ball more and react to the yorkers."
He added:
What we've seen with Pathirana is that he's bowling at 145, 146, 148kph, so he has that natural advantage. He hits the yorkers pretty well. As he naturally evolves and gets more experience, he can hit those yorkers with that action as much as Malinga, but with a quicker speed and the ability for change-ups. He's the exciting talent for Sri Lanka, and exciting talent for CSK."
On that note, here is a look at three Lasith Malinga records that Matheesha Pathirana can break in the IPL.
#1. Most IPL wickets by a Sri Lankan pacer
Matheesha Pathirana has had an impressive start to his IPL career. He played just two matches in the 2022 edition and picked up two wickets. However, this year has seen the growth and emergence of Pathirana as a bowler. He has picked up seven wickets in 2023, including the wickets of Andrew Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Sam Curran, and Heinrich Klaasen and others.
He is quick and can be deceptive at his pace and is often entrusted with the task of bowling the crucial death overs. Pathirana is currently just 20 years old and has shown good maturity with the ball. If Pathirana plays as many seasons as Lasith Malinga, he will likely break the record of most IPL wickets by a Sri Lankan bowler.
#2. Taking a hat-trick in IPL cricket
Lasith Malinga has picked up three hat-tricks in international cricket - one in ODIs and two in T20Is. However, the Lankan pacer does not have any hat-trick in IPL cricket despite playing 122 matches.
Matheesha Pathirana gets his maiden IPL wicket in the first ball of his IPL career.
Pathirana got his maiden IPL wicket on the very first ball he bowled and has also made rapid strides in junior cricket. His slinging action often makes it difficult for batsmen to pick him up at the pace that he generates.
With time and experience, Pathirana is expected to be more lethal and could pick up an IPL hat-trick, a record that has eluded Malinga in his impressive career.
#3. Getting batsmen clean bowled
Out of Lasith Malinga's 170 IPL wickets, 63 batsmen have been clean bowled. Accordingly, Malinga has a staggering record of 37.1% bowled dismissals.
Matheesha Pathirana has a similar bowling action to Malinga and has so far only gotten a batter bowled once. However, with his slinging action and the ability to execute yorkers at a high pace, Pathirana is likely to dismiss more batsmen by castling their stumps.