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Sri Lankan legendary fast bowler Lasith Malinga turned 38 on Saturday (August 28). On this occasion, many cricketers, cricket teams that Malinga has represented and cricket fanatics wished the superstar on Twitter.
The official Twitter handle of Sri Lanka cricket took to the micro-blogging platform to remind everyone of Malinga's tremendous record at the highest level. Their birthday tweet for Malinga read:
"546 International wickets #WT20 2014 winning captain. Only man to take 3 ODI hat-tricks. Only bowler to have taken four wickets in four balls twice! Happy Birthday to one of the greatest bowler in Limited over Cricket Lasith Malinga @ninety9sl," Sri Lanka Cricket wrote in their tweet."
Lasith Malinga's former Sri Lankan teammate Dasun Shanaka also tweeted that it was a pleasure for him to play with the Galle-born pacer. Shanaka also added that Malinga is the best T20 bowler the format has ever produced.
Malinga's Mumbai Indians (MI) teammates Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav also wished him a happy birthday on Twitter. While Hardik shared a picture of his son with long hair similar to that of Malinga, Suryakumar termed him 'the king of yorkers'.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) also wished Lasith Malinga on Twitter. Their tweet read:
"Most wickets in Men’s T20Is. Most wickets in T20 World Cups for Sri Lanka. Five hat-tricks across formats. 2014 ICC Men’s @T20WorldCup champion. Happy birthday, Lasith Malinga."
Lasith Malinga's impeccable record in cricket
Lasith Malinga was one of the best fast bowlers Sri Lanka ever produced. His slingy bowling action often troubled even the best in the business, and his deceptive variations were a treat to watch.
Malinga is the highest wicket-taker ever in T20I cricket with 107 wickets from 84 games. Apart from him, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is the only other cricketer who has managed to pick up more than 100 international wickets in the format.
The 2014 T20 World Cup winning captain is also the highest wicket-taker in the Indian Premier league (IPL). In just 122 matches in this tournament, Malinga has accounted for 170 wickets and has had a massive role to play in Mumbai's success over the years.
In ODI cricket, he is the third-highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka with 338 scalps from 226 games.
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