Matheesha Pathirana had a match to remember on Sunday when he trapped Gujarat Titans’ opener Shubman Gill leg before on the first ball of his IPL debut.
Gujarat Titans got off to a flyer after Chennai Super Kings posted a below-par 134 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. GT raced to 59/0 at the end of seven overs, with Wriddhiman Saha playing on 40 alongside Shubman Gill, who was on 18 off 16 balls.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni then introduced Pathirana to bowl the eighth over. Pathirana, whose bowling action is quite similar to Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga, struck immediately after coming into the attack.
Pathirana pinned Gill leg before with the full-length delivery, which seemed to be heading to middle stump. Gill instantly went for a DRS but the replay showed that there was pad first, forcing Gill to walk off the field.
Pathirana finally finished with figures of 2/24.
However, Gujarat Titans later went on to beat Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets, securing a top-two finish in the team standings.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Pathirana’s impressive debut:
First ball of his over in IPL debut. We really have got a junior Malinga at our ranks. Pathirana
— Giri (@giri_leo10) May 15, 2022
Good to see Lasith Malinga back and striking on the first ball of his spell. Oops it’s Matheesh Pathirana. That action though. Incredible. #IPL2022 — Gagan Thakur (@gagan_gt) May 15, 2022
Baby malinga for a reason
Welcome pathiranaCsk’s future
— H3ārt♥️Hâ¢kè® – ᏗᏒ (@02Beinghuman) May 15, 2022
Matheesha
Junoir Malinga ❤❤❤— Alone Boy (@Ammar71273979) May 15, 2022
Extremely weird seeing Malinga bowl for CSK and not against them — Dave (@CricketDave27) May 15, 2022
M Pathirana’s release point is perhaps a tad lower than even Malinga’s release. It would take time for a batter to adjust. Not exactly surprising that he picked up a wicket off his first ball in IPL. — Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) May 15, 2022
Malinga/Pathirana swinging the ball in is worth taking a deeper look at. Look at the seam. It’s not conventional. Almost a drifter. Drifting into pads. pic.twitter.com/xcOeoSCB9F
— Flighted Leggie (@flighted_leggie) May 15, 2022
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