Lasith Malinga's Top 20 Moments in IPL History

The Mumbai Indians have sadly now seen the last of paceman Lasith Malinga for this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL) after the Sri Lankan jetted off to team up with his fellow countrymen for the limited-overs leg of their tour to England.

And the fearsome fast bowler will be badly missed by the defending champions after producing a bucket load of memorable displays for the franchise over the course of the last six editions of the tournament, including, in no particular order, these stunning efforts…

When Malinga clean bowled the Kings XI Punjab’s Praveen Kumar with one of his world-renowned yorkers in the beautiful surroundings of Dharamsala last April, the diminutive Sri Lankan became the first bowler in the history of the competition to have captured 100 wickets.

Malinga enjoyed his most productive tournament ever in the 2011 IPL, with the 30-year-old getting the Purple Cap after snaring an impressive 28 wickets in his 16 matches for the Indians at a miserly economy rate of just 5.95, the second highest total in the history of the competition.

In April 2011, the fast bowler returned his best-ever bowling analysis, and the fourth best in the history of the IPL, after capturing remarkable figures of five for 13. Four of his victims were clean bowled, to help dismiss the Delhi Daredevils for just 95 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

The Sri Lanka paceman currently holds the honour of being the leading wicket taker in the history of the IPL, with Malinga having captured a total of 119 wickets so far in his 83 encounters at an overall economy rate of just 6.53. This haul includes three four-fors and one five-for.

Malinga needed all of four deliveries to get himself warmed up in this year’s IPL, before the paceman then rearranged Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir’s stumps for a duck in Abu Dhabi.

In his debut IPL campaign, the Slinga captured three for 11 in Port Elizabeth to help blow away the Kolkata Knight Riders for a paltry 95, the paceman’s best bowling analysis of that year’s competition.

When Malinga clean bowled Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Nic Maddinson in Dubai in April, incredibly it was the fast bowler’s 50th dismissal in such fashion in his glittering IPL career.

The Mumbai Indians’ opening bowler produced an absolute beauty to clean up Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Shikhar Dhawan when the two franchises clashed earlier this month.

The Sri Lanka paceman was in typically devastating form back in the 2012 IPL as he returned brilliant figures of two for 16 from his four overs to help restrict the Pune Warriors to a total of 129 in Mumbai, with both Manish Pandey and Marlon Samuels clean bowled.

Although, in the end, it actually proved too steep a total for the Indians to chase down.

In April 2012 Malinga recorded sensational figures of four for 16 from 3.4 overs to help dismiss the Deccan Chargers for only 100 at the Wankhede Stadium, the paceman’s second best bowling analysis in his IPL career.

In March 2010, the 30-year-old picked up four for 22, his fourth-best analysis ever in the history of the IPL, to help the Indians overcome the Kings XI Punjab by four wickets in Mumbai.

Despite the Indians’ disappointing campaign so far in this year’s competition, Malinga himself has still managed to keep up his own standards as always, such as against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mumbai earlier this month when the fast bowler captured two for 29 to help the holders to a narrow 19-run win.

Malinga was at it again on 10 May when he outfoxed in-form Chennai Super Kings batsman Faf du Plessis to knock over the South African star.

Malinga produced one of his all-time great IPL bowling performances to help his franchise narrowly beat the Pune Warriors by just one run at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in May 2012.

The Sri Lankan finished with figures of two for 25 from his four overs, including the key wicket of opposition skipper Sourav Ganguly clean bowled for only 16.

Despite their eventual six-wicket loss to the Delhi Daredevils in Sharjah in April, the little Sri Lankan still very nearly turned the match in Mumbai’s favour with a quite brilliant display of block-hole bowling at the very death.

The big-haired fast bowler recorded his best bowling figures of three for 39 in the 2013 IPL against the Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala, as the Mumbai Indians went on to claim their first-ever title.

In the 2012 edition of the tournament, Malinga picked up 22 wickets in only 14 encounters for Mumbai, at an economy rate of just 6.3 runs per over, the fast bowler’s second-highest return in his six-year IPL career to date.

With an overall career economy rate of just 6.53 in his 83 matches across five editions of the IPL, Malinga currently sits at No. 4 in the rankings of the competition’s meanest bowlers, although he is second only to Dale Steyn (6.49) when it comes to just the pacemen.

The Mumbai star made quite an impression in the very first match of the 2014 IPL against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The 30-year-old returned eye-catching figures of four for 23 from his four allotted overs, his best figures in this year’s tournament.

In last year’s final at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, Malinga produced a match-turning first over to help the Indians win their maiden IPL crown.

Chasing just 149 for victory, the Chennai Super Kings soon found themselves wobbling at two for two following the opening five balls of their reply after the Sri Lankan had dismissed both Mike Hussey and then Suresh Raina as the Indians went on to win by 23 runs.

Follow @Richiereds1976