Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga has sensationally taken four wickets in four balls to become the first bowler to claim five international hat-tricks, in a devastating blitz against New Zealand in Kandy. He celebrated his 36th birthday last week but Malinga has shown no signs of slowing down, recording the extraordinary figures of 5-6 off four overs as Sri Lanka recorded a 37-run victory over the injury-ravaged Kiwis in the dead rubber third T20I.
The crafty slinger, who hopes next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia can be his international swansong, now has two hat-tricks in T20Is to go with his three in ODIs, with Wasim Akram the next best with four hat-tricks (two in Tests, two in ODIs).Malinga became the first bowler to take four wickets in four balls in international cricket twice, having first achieved the rare feat when he ran through South Africa’s tail in a 2007 World Cup game.