 "'Baby Malinga is here': Twitter hails Matheesha Pathirana's dream IPL debut")
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
What A Debut!🤩 @matheesha_99
— Adil Hameen (@AdilHameen) May 15, 2022
Lasith Malinga's last ball in IPL - WICKET
Matheesha Pathirana's first ball in IPL - WICKET#SLvsBAN pic.twitter.com/UdFrpYZjEV
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMatheesha 😎😎😎😎🥳🥳🥳🥳
— Alone Boy (@Ammar71273979) May 15, 2022
Junoir Malinga 🥳🥳🥳❤❤❤
Jr. Malinga ,
— 𝙱𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚔𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚢 (@Akshay_P23) May 15, 2022
Welcome to the ipl Matheesha Pathirana,
First ball wicket in debut match ..
What a start #CSKvsGT pic.twitter.com/LeID9VDKcd
Baby Malinga is here. pic.twitter.com/qbvwlEuO2H
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 15, 2022
Extremely weird seeing Malinga bowl for CSK and not against them
— Dave (@CricketDave27) May 15, 2022
Lasith Malinga is well and truly here pic.twitter.com/ubHRMMYBJz
— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) May 15, 2022
M Pathirana's release point is perhaps a tad lower than even Malinga's release.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) May 15, 2022
It would take time for a batter to adjust. Not exactly surprising that he picked up a wicket off his first ball in IPL.
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
Read all the Latest News **,** Trending News **,** Cricket News **,** IPl Live Score Update Latest IPL Schedule 2022 , and , ** IPl 2022 Points table Entertainment News ** here. Follow us on Facebook,** Twitter and Instagram**.****
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
