Lasith Malinga was in the news the last week for having retired from test cricket. His reasoning was that his knee injury could not withstand the rigors of cricket where he had to bowl 15 overs or more in a day. In this context, the T20 format of four overs per bowler fits in ideally in his case. The fact that his ex-captains, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, supported his decision lends creditability to his decision. No one has been criticizing the decision like they do of others.
Not just off the field, Malinga continues to don the headlines on the ground as well. Look at his exploits for Mumbai Indians in 6 matches so far. 16 wickets at an average of 9 runs per wicket, economy rate hovering around 6 runs per over and more importantly a strike rate of a wicket every 9 balls approximately. This literally means that his average bowling figures this season have been 4 overs for 24 runs while taking at least 2 wickets. What a performer!
Similarly, on the batting front, Sachin Tendulkar has led the way (again, another Mumbaikar) with a strike-rate that is decent in T20 and a staggering average for this format. His performance dipped a bit, more due to the demise of his spiritual guru rather than any cricketing reason. Ably supported by Ambati Rayudu, SRT has dominated the batting most of the times. When he does not, the rival teams have to put up with Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds - imagine the plight of the bowling attacks! And we are not even talking about Pollard. This shows why Mumbai are the favorites to make it a successful season for Sachin - an IPL tournament win will be the icing on the cake for this season.
Shaun Marsh and David Warner are two Oz who must be wondering why they are not part of their national team more often. They are making statements regularly and this must be a good platform to showcase their form to the national selectors. Shane Warne, though, must be showing the same set of people what the current team is missing by his exploits. What a legend he has been!
Not just off the field, Malinga continues to don the headlines on the ground as well. Look at his exploits for Mumbai Indians in 6 matches so far. 16 wickets at an average of 9 runs per wicket, economy rate hovering around 6 runs per over and more importantly a strike rate of a wicket every 9 balls approximately. This literally means that his average bowling figures this season have been 4 overs for 24 runs while taking at least 2 wickets. What a performer!
Similarly, on the batting front, Sachin Tendulkar has led the way (again, another Mumbaikar) with a strike-rate that is decent in T20 and a staggering average for this format. His performance dipped a bit, more due to the demise of his spiritual guru rather than any cricketing reason. Ably supported by Ambati Rayudu, SRT has dominated the batting most of the times. When he does not, the rival teams have to put up with Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds - imagine the plight of the bowling attacks! And we are not even talking about Pollard. This shows why Mumbai are the favorites to make it a successful season for Sachin - an IPL tournament win will be the icing on the cake for this season.
Shaun Marsh and David Warner are two Oz who must be wondering why they are not part of their national team more often. They are making statements regularly and this must be a good platform to showcase their form to the national selectors. Shane Warne, though, must be showing the same set of people what the current team is missing by his exploits. What a legend he has been!
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