5 greatest players of the shortest format of the game

#2 Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga is a mockery of correct technique and aesthetic beauty. His slingy round-arm action is extremely difficult to read, and his pinpoint accuracy is difficult to negotiate. The left-arm pacer has a reputation for precise yorkers, and even holds the record for most bowled dismissals in T20's.

The Sri Lankan's average of 19 is the best amongst players with at least 30 games. In fact, he is the tournament's leading wicket-taker. With 154 wickets from 110 matches, the seamer is well clear of Amit Mishra, who has 134 wickets.

It is a well-known fact that wickets don't necessarily dent the flow of runs in T20's, however, dot balls certainly do. Malinga, with 1060 dot balls, is second on the list of number of dot balls in the tournament. His ability to maintain pressure on the batsman by bowling dots is the major contributing reason for his knack of taking wickets.

Then again, bowling dots is only part of his skill. It is pivotal that this pressure is relentlessly applied by ensuring that there are no loose deliveries. This was what the man was a master at. Let me compare him with Praveen Kumar. Number one the list of dot balls in the tournament, Kumar only has 90 wickets to show. This is because of his inability to sustain pressure built, by bowling loose deliveries that allow the batsmen to pick up an easy boundary. This is reflected in his economy rate of 7.72, compared to Malinga's phenomenal 6.86.