New Malinga: Sri Lankan bowler makes a mark with inspired bowling action

When Sri Lanka demolished Kuwait in the opening match of the U-19 Asia Cup game in Sharjah on Thursday, one of the most talked about sights on the field was the bowling action of the new Lasith Malinga - 19-year-old fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana.

Pathirana, who had figures of 2 for 7 from 3 overs, was bowling with a similarly slingy side-arm action, with his feet at a highly unusual angle at the point of release.

Sri Lanka secured a massive 274-run win against Kuwait as Dunith Wellalage (4/2), Sadisha Rajapaksa(3/4) and Matheesha Pathirana(2/7) bowled out their opponents for just 49 runs in 17.3 overs. Sri Lanka posted 323/5 when put in to bat.

From Trinity College of Kandy, Kumar Sangakkara's alma mater, Pathirana had taken 6 wickets for 7 runs on his debut game for Trinity College in Kandy as a 17-year-old in 2019.

Last year, during the 2020 U-19 Cricket World Cup, while playing against India, the pacer was believed to have delivered the fastest ever ball in cricket history at 175 kmph, but then this was discovered to be a technical error by the speed gun.

Pathirana joined Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022 as Adam Milne's replacement.