Happy birthday Lasith Malinga: the only bowler to pick up 4 wickets in 4 balls, twice!

Lasith Malinga, born on this day in 1983, is widely regarded as one of the deadliest bowlers in white-ball cricket. Known for his peculiar bowling action, Malinga left Test cricket early and focused on limited-overs cricket. The right-arm fast bowler has more than 500 wickets in international cricket to his name across formats. He is the only bowler in history to pick up four wickets in four consecutive deliveries in international cricket twice. 

On the occasion of Malinga's 38th birthday, let us revisit two of his most iconic performances in international cricket. 

Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 2007 World Cup, Providence 

Batting first, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 209 in the Super Eights encounter against South Africa. In reply, South Africa were cruising along at 160 for two in the 33rd over. Muttiah Muralitharan sent back Herschelle Gibbs in the last ball of that over and then returned in the next over to get rid of Mark Boucher. 

When Justin Kemp was stumped off Sanath Jayasuriya in the 38th over, the Proteas required only 28 runs to win off 72 balls with five wickets in hand. 

The experienced duo of Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock stabilised things further and at one stage they needed four runs off 32 deliveries. Lasith Malinga was bowling his ninth over. He went for a few in that match, giving away 50 runs until that point. 

What followed was absolutely crazy. Pollock had no answer to Malinga's yorker and was cleaned up. South Africa's number eight Andrew Hall was deceived by a slower one and holed out to Upul Tharanga. 

Malinga was on a hat-trick when he returned to bowl the next over. The well-set Kallis was on strike. South Africa needed three to win.

Kallis edged a full and wide delivery to keeper Kumar Sangakkara and Malinga became the fifth bowler to bag a hat-trick in the World Cup.

But the fast bowler was not done. A 145 kph yorker uprooted Makhaya Ntini's stumps and Malinga created history. He became the first bowler in the history of international cricket to pick up four wickets in four balls. 

It was a bit of an anticlimax as Malinga conceded a boundary in the penultimate over, though a streaky one, and South Africa won an absolute cliffhanger of a match by one wicket. 

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, Pallekele, 2019

12 years after the four-in-four against South Africa, Malinga repeated the feat again. The format was different and Malinga was not the same tearaway fast bowler. He had developed himself into a tremendously skillful bowler in white-ball cricket. Pretty late into his career, Malinga developed a deadly fast, inswinging yorker with the new ball against the left-handers. 

In that T20I, Malinga breached the defences of Colin Munro in the third delivery of the third over with his new-found weapon. Malinga bowled another full, inswinging delivery that struck the pads of Hamish Rutherford. The on-field umpire first gave it not out but had to overturn his decision as Sri Lanka sent it upstairs.

It was Colin de Grandhomme, the right-hander, this time. The hat-trick ball was full and swinging away and Grandhomme was squared up, only to see the stumps disturbed. Malinga survived a close no-ball call which could've gone either way. But Malinga deservedly bagged yet another hat-trick. 

Ross Taylor was clueless against a full delivery which swung late and was trapped leg-before. Malinga and Sri Lanka were elated. New Zealand could never recover and were all-out for a paltry 88 chasing 126.