Malinga breaks Afridi's record

Veteran Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga has broken the record for most wickets in Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket.

Malinga claimed the 99th wicket of his career during the first T20I against New Zealand in Colombo by dismissing Colin de Grandhomme in the 14th over of the innings. 

In doing so, the right-arm fast-bowler went past former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who previously held the record with 98 scalps to his name.

The leading wicket-taker in T20I history!

Congratulations Lasith Malinga 👏 pic.twitter.com/mj2oVbUz7c

— ICC (@ICC) September 1, 2019

Malinga was retained as the captain of the Sri Lankan side for the three-match T20I series against the Kiwis. The second and third T20Is will take place on Tuesday and Friday, respectively.

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Afridi, a leg-spinner who also captained Pakistan, played 99 T20 matches.

But Malinga's effort was not enough as Ross Taylor struck 48 off 29 deliveries to help New Zealand win by five wickets and lead the three-match series 1-0.

Malinga returned figures of 2-23 from his four overs.

The veteran speedster gave away just eight runs from his first three overs but his fourth and the 19th of the innings cost 15 runs to let the Black Caps slip away with the game.

Malinga, known for bowling yorkers with his slinging action, made his T20 debut against England in 2006.

He has 101 wickets from 30 Tests and 338 scalps in 226 ODI games.

REACTION

M.Muralitharan 🇱🇰 Test 800 Wickets
M.Muralitharan 🇱🇰 ODI 534 Wickets
Lasith Malinga 🇱🇰 T20I 99 Wickets

Sri Lankan players now, highest wicket-takers in all formats of Cricket 🏏

— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) September 2, 2019

Congratulations to Lasith Malinga on becoming the highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket. He has broken my friend @SAfridiOfficial’s long standing record of 98 wickets. Certainly an inspiration for the younger generation 🙌🇱🇰 pic.twitter.com/GXfe1QF6QA

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 2, 2019