Jasprit Bumrah took to Twitter to post a heartfelt message as Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga bid adieu to ODI cricket after Sri Lanka’s first ODI encounter against Bangladesh on Friday. “Classic Mali spell Thank you for everything you’ve done for cricket. Always admired you and will always continue to do so ,” he posted. Bumrah and Malinga were teammates at Mumbai Indians and the India death over specialist has always been vocal towards the impact that the veteran has had on him.
Malinga said goodbye to one-day cricket in style as his devastating opening spell helped Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 91 runs on Friday.
Malinga, known for his blond-tinted hair and the distinctive slingshot action, received a guard of honour from his team mates at the start of the second innings at a packed R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
India legend Sachin Tendulkar also paid tribute to Malinga as he posted a picture of the Sri Lanka pacer with the caption – “Congratulations on a wonderful One Day career, #Malinga. Wishing you all the very best for the future.”
The 35-year-old did not disappoint his fans as he produced an inswinging yorker to remove Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal with just his fifth ball of the innings
Nuwan Pradeep trapped Mohammad Mithun leg-before before another trademark yorker from Malinga ripped through the defence of Soumya Sarka, leaving Bangladesh’s middle order exposed at 30-3 while chasing a mammoth target of 315.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman scored combative fifties but Pradeep and off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva picked wickets at regular intervals wrestle back the momentum in Sri Lanka’s favour.
In his final over, Malinga dismissed tailender Mustafizur Rahman with a slower ball as Sri Lanka bowled out Bangladesh for 223 and took 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
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