Sri Lanka skipper Wanindu Hasaranga will have the opportunity to make history in his side’s upcoming T20 World Cup opener. Hasaranga will lead Sri Lanka in their first Group D match against South Africa today, June 3. The match will be played at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
The star all-rounder will be heading into the fixture just three scalps shy of becoming the leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in T20Is. Hasaranga has acquired 104 wickets for his nation in 65 matches in the same format. He just needs to add four more to surpass Lasith Malinga’s tally of 107 wickets.
Lasith Malinga was the first-ever bowler to move past the 100-wicket mark in T20I cricket. He achieved this feat against New Zealand in 2019. The Sri Lankan pacer completed a hattrick before adding a fourth successive in that match. Colin Munro was his landmark scalp as Malinga sealed a century of wickets in just 76 games. He currently sits in 10th place on the all-time tally with New Zealand’s Tim Southee leading the chart with 157 wickets.
Wanindu Hasaranga reached the 100-wicket milestone in T20I cricket recently. He became the 11th player to acquire this feat in a series against Afghanistan earlier this year. Hasaranga now has more wickets than any other bowler in T20I cricket since making his debut in 2019. He is also the second-fastest player to reach the 100-wicket milestone behind Rashid Khan. The Afghan achieved the same in just 53 matches in 2021.
Wanindu Hasaranga recently spoke about travel concerns before the T20 World Cup 2024. Hours before their opening fixture against South Africa the Sri Lankan skipper talked about how his team was staying nearly 90 minutes away from the venue.
Speaking to the reporters, Hasaranga said, “No, if we play under the lights, then we prepare everything under the lights at 10:30. The only concern is we have to come early to the ground. We had to come at 7.30 in the morning because we were so far from the ground. It will take like one and a half hours to the ground. That’s the only concern we have.”
Even if Wanindu Hasaranga fails to break Malinga’s tally in the T20I World Cup against the Proteas, he will have three more opportunities in the tournament’s group stage. The 2014 winners will play Bangladesh, Nepal and the Netherlands in their following games.
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