LUCKYSPIRE

Lasith Malinga

India · Left-arm orthodox · All-rounder

SL Malinga is a Sri Lankan bowler who represented Sri Lanka Cricket and spent a substantial portion of his franchise career with Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Across 426 matches in four formats, he took 660 wickets at a bowling average of 25.88 and an economy of 5.52. The One-Day International format is his primary competition: 208 ODI matches and 322 wickets at an economy of 5.37. His recent appearances have all been T20 Internationals, where returns have been mixed outside an exceptional 5/6 against New Zealand at Pallekele in September 2019.

Matches
0
Runs
0
Wickets
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Explore Full Stats
Mumbai IndiansMumbai Indians
Lasith Malinga
Bat Avg
8.0
Bowl Avg
25.9

2026 Season Context

Current team & role

Mumbai Indians · All-Rounder

Recent form

Malinga's last 10 appearances were all T20 Internationals, spanning September 2019 to March 2020, and yielded just 10 wickets across the sequence, with his standout performance a 5/6 against New Zeala

Strongest format

One-Day International — With 322 wickets in 208 ODI matches at an economy of 5.37, the 50-over format accounts for nearly half of Malinga's total wicket haul and represents h

Career stats overview

22 Test · 208 ODI · 196 T20I appearances — spanning 2009 to present.

Test

22 matches

255
Runs scored
69
Wickets taken

Where his legacy was forged — the format that rewards patience and precision.

ODI

208 matches

508
Runs scored
322
Wickets taken

The middle-overs architect — a decade of white-ball consistency.

T20I

196 matches

210
Runs scored
269
Wickets taken

Brief but impactful — quality over volume in the shortest format.

Format-aware deep dive

Where he dominates

Home record

215
wickets

Average 21.4 on Indian soil — better than any active spinner of the era.

Fourth-innings force

112
wickets

A third of his Test wickets come on day five, when bowlers decide outcomes.

Lower-order resilience

38.4
batting avg

At No.7 his average beats every Indian specialist in that slot since 2015.

Elite opposition

198
wkts in 48 M

Combined record vs Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa.

Consistency

14
five-wicket hauls

Third-most by any Indian bowler since his Test debut.

WTC presence

2
finals played

In the conversation every cycle. Central to this India red-ball side.

Career threads

Beyond the numbers

660 wickets across four formats

Across 426 matches in Tests, ODIs, T20Is and the IPL, Malinga claimed 660 wickets at a career bowling average of 25.88 and an economy of 5.52. That volume places him among the busiest wicket-takers in modern limited-overs cricket.

ODI record: 322 wickets in 208 matches

The One-Day International format is where Malinga built his reputation. His 322 ODI wickets at 28.73 with an economy of 5.37 across 208 appearances for Sri Lanka represents a sustained workload at international level over many years.

IPL: 170 wickets at a 19.80 average

In 122 IPL matches, primarily for Mumbai Indians, Malinga took 170 wickets at a bowling average of 19.80 and an economy of 7.14. His average in the T20 franchise setting is markedly better than in any other format.

Lethal against England: 70 wickets in 22 matches

Malinga's numbers against England stand out across the opposition splits. In 22 matches he claimed 70 wickets at an economy of just 4.72, the lowest economy rate he has registered against any of the major Test nations.

Wankhede his most productive single venue

At Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Malinga has taken 71 wickets across 7 matches, the highest wicket tally at any single ground in the dataset. His economy there of 6.90 reflects the T20 context, but the sheer volume is exceptional.

Head-to-head

Vs opponents

Career totals broken down by the teams SL Malinga has faced most often, heat-scaled by output.

Australia

Matches
26
Runs
180
Wickets
62

Pakistan

Matches
26
Runs
127
Wickets
65

India

Matches
23
Runs
191
Wickets
61

England

Matches
22
Runs
167
Wickets
70

New Zealand

Matches
19
Runs
107
Wickets
67

South Africa

Matches
19
Runs
52
Wickets
48

Bangladesh

Matches
9
Runs
43
Wickets
65

Chennai Super Kings

Matches
5
Runs
18
Wickets
31

Grounds played at

Home & away grounds

The venues where SL Malinga has turned out most often.

R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Matches
19
Runs
73
Wickets
58

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Matches
11
Runs
38
Wickets
43

Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium

Matches
7
Runs
44
Wickets
24

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Matches
7
Runs
27
Wickets
71

Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa

Matches
6
Runs
20
Wickets
22

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Matches
6
Runs
69
Wickets
18

The Oval, London

Matches
6
Runs
42
Wickets
15

Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Matches
5
Runs
18
Wickets
16

Official profile

Elsewhere on the web

ESPNcricinfo

SL Malinga's profile

Historical aggregates derived from Cricsheet (cricsheet.org) under ODC-BY licence. 2001/02–2026 IPL seasons. Batting average uses dismissals as the denominator; bowler wickets are credited only for bowler-kind dismissals (bowled, caught, lbw, caught-and-bowled, stumped, hit wicket). Venue and opposition splits are rebuilt after every ingest from the Cricsheet archive.

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