Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling coach Lasith Malinga has praised Chennai Super Kings (CSK) young pacer Matheesha Pathirana for his outstanding performance. Despite Matheesha Pathirana’s success against his team, Lasith Malinga expressed his admiration for his bowling prowess.
MI teams suffered a 20-run defeat against the Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 14. Matheesha Pathirana produced an impressive bowling performance in his team’s fourth win this season, taking figures of 4-28 in four overs.
Pathirana disrupted Mumbai’s momentum after their strong start of an unbeaten 70 in the eighth over. He made crucial strides by dismissing Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in his first over. He removed the well-placed Tilak Varma in his second over, breaking his 50-run stand with Rohit.
The young Sri Lankan bowler produced a stunning delivery to dismiss all-rounder Romario Shepherd in the 18th over. He marked his final victim of the match, as Romario Shepherd fell by just one run. Pathirana’s performance contributed to his career-best numbers in IPL history.
Extremely impressed with Matheesha Pathirana – Lasith Malinga
After the loss to Super Kings, Lasith Malinga took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise Matheesha Pathirana for her better control, line and length. Malinga emphasized the importance of Pathirana’s form for Sri Lanka ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“Very impressed with @matheesha_81’s performance yesterday, despite doing so against us. She has significantly improved her control, line and length. Her form ahead of the World Cup will be crucial for SL,” Malinga tweeted.
Extremely impressed with @matheesha_81’s performance yesterday, despite doing it against us. He has significantly improved his control, line and length. His form facing the WC will be fundamental for SL🇱🇰
– Lasith Malinga (@malinga_ninety9) April 15, 2024
The 21-year-old missed the previous matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders due to injury. Pathirana played a crucial role for CSK as they defended a target of 206 against MI, who recently chased down 197 runs at the same wicket in just 16 overs.
Matheesha Pathirana Is Out With Baby Lasith Malings – Ruturaj Gaikwad
During the presentation, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad revealed the special nickname his teammates gave to Matheesha Pathirana. He praised the bowlers, particularly highlighting Pathirana’s accurate yorkers and the contributions of Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur.
“These types of places demand special performances in the batting and bowling departments. Our Malinga bowled well and nailed those Yorkers. Tushar [Deshpande] and shardul [Thakur] He also played well for us. We encourage our players to have a good mental space. Ajinkya Rahane was not fit and we thought it was best for him to open the innings. Yes. He is our baby Malinga and we call him by that name,” Gaikwad said.
Matheesha Pathirana moved up to eighth in the rankings after claiming eight wickets in three innings at an excellent strike rate of 8.25. With his recent four-wicket haul, he has taken 29 wickets in 17 IPL matches at an average of 17.62 and an impressive economy rate of 7.84.
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