Sri Lanka's Malinga first T20 bowler to claim 100 wickets

Published
4
Sri Lanka's captain Lasith Malinga delivers the ball during the third and final international Twenty20 cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Friday. — AFP
Sri Lanka's captain Lasith Malinga delivers the ball during the third and final international Twenty20 cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Friday. — AFP

Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga on Friday wreaked havoc after becoming the first bowler in Twenty20 internationals to claim 100 wickets as he struck four times with four balls in the third match against New Zealand.

Malinga, who surpassed Pakistan spinner Shahid Afridi's tally of 97 scalps to become the leading T20 wicket-taker on Sunday, bowled Colin Munro for 12 to claim a century of wickets in his 76th match.

The 36-year-old speedster went on to complete a hat-trick and took four wickets in four balls. Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor followed Munro to the pavilion.

Malinga, who once achieved a similar feat in the 2007 50-over World Cup in South Africa, also took the wicket of Tim Seifert, for eight, to register a five-wicket haul and take his T20 tally to 104.

The veteran speedster, who retired from Test cricket in 2011 and played his farewell one-day international in July, has competition from Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan who has 88 wickets.

Afridi, a leg-spinner who also captained Pakistan, played 99 T20 matches before his last international outing last year.

Malinga, known for bowling yorkers with his slinging action, made his T20 debut against England in 2006.

He has 101 wickets from 30 Tests and 338 scalps in 226 ODI games.

Opinion

Editorial

Danger ahead
08 Aug, 2026

Danger ahead

PAKISTAN has already paid a heavy human price this monsoon, even as another dangerous spell approaches. NDMA figures...
Israeli impunity
08 Aug, 2026

Israeli impunity

ANY hope that Hamas’s decision to disarm would lead to a breakthrough has been dashed for one simple reason:...
Flawed investigations
08 Aug, 2026

Flawed investigations

THE botched case of a young Karachi businessman, Mir Raza Ali, who died under suspicious circumstances, took a new...
Terrorist havens
07 Aug, 2026

Terrorist havens

DESPITE the use of both carrots and sticks by the international community, the Afghan Taliban refuse to cut their...
Mineral wealth
Updated 07 Aug, 2026

Mineral wealth

Any future agreements involving critical minerals must be subjected to rigorous legal, financial and technical scrutiny.
Growth denied
07 Aug, 2026

Growth denied

THE Sindh government’s agreement with the World Bank to combine health, nutrition, sanitation, social protection...