IPL 2020 - 5 veterans who prove age is just a number

#1 Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga

The fine line between victory and defeat is very small. Last season, Lasith Malinga could very well have been the villain for Mumbai Indians in the final against CSK, having conceded 49 runs in his four overs, 20 of them coming in one over. But, what people remember is him defending nine in the last over, and trapping Shardul Thakur lbw last ball to clinch the contest for MI by one run.

In crunch situations, nothing beats experience, which explains why MI skipper Rohit Sharma went to Malinga despite him having had a forgettable day till then. The performance in the final over was a reassurance of sorts for Mumbai to retain 36-year-old Malinga ahead of the auction.

Malinga has an exceptional IPL record. In 122 games, he has 170 wickets at an average of 19.80 and a strike rate of 16.62. In fact, he is the all-time leading wicket-taker in the T20 league. The Sri Lankan slinger has also maintained a decent overall economy rate of 7.14.

If you look at his performances in the last couple of seasons (2017 and 2019), he has picked up 11 and 16 wickets respectively. In 2019, he claimed two four-wicket hauls to reiterate that he still has it in him to deliver, and the last over in the final will become a part of IPL folklore.