Former Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga responded to a cheeky comment made by Virat Kohli to Shakib Al Hasan during the first Test between India and Bangladesh in Chennai.
During the evening session on day two of the match, a clip of India star Virat Kohli went viral on social media, as stump mics picked up a conversation he had with Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
Kohli was heard saying, "Niyamai malli. Malinga. Malinga bana hua hai. Yorker pe yorker kyun daal rahe ho." (Niyamai malli. Malinga. You become (Lasith) Malinga, why are you bowling yorker after yorker), which led to laughs from the television commentators.
During his career, Malinga garnered a reputation for a searing yorker, with his slingy action and ability to generate high pace causing strife to many a batter. Kohli jokingly suggested to Shakib that he become Malinga, as he had been bowling several yorkers to Kohli in the previous over.
On Saturday, Malinga himself joined in the fun. On X (formerly Twitter), he quoted a clip of the exchange with the caption, "Niyamai malli," a Sinhalese encouragement often shouted by Sri Lankan wicketkeepers along with emojis of a laugh and a hand making a heart shape.
Kohli was dismissed later on in the evening session, lbw to spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz before TV replays showed he had in fact nicked the ball but failed to review. India were in an awkward position at 67-3 then, before Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill took them to stumps.
Both players completed their centuries on the morning of day three, Pant scoring 109 in his comeback Test and Gill an unbeaten 119 to help India set Bangladesh a target of 515.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
