IPL 2023: Mumbai Indians bamboozled by 'Baby Malinga'

Skipper MS Dhoni could not stop praising Sri Lanka's Matheesha Pathirana after the young Sri Lankan fast bowler led an inspired pace attack to help Chennai Super Kings hammer Mumbai Indians by six wickets in a clash of IPL heavyweights on Saturday.

Pathirana, who is called "Baby Malinga" for his slinging action similar to former Sri Lankan pace ace Lasith Malinga, returned with figures of 3-15 to limit five-time winner Mumbai to 139-8 in Chennai.

New Zealand opener Devon Conway made 44 as Dhoni's Chennai -- four-time IPL champion -- romped home with 14 balls to spare.

But the star of the show was undoubtedly Pathirana, the 20-year-old fast bowler from Kandy.

"People who don't have any clean action, batsmen have a difficult time picking it. But his consistency, pace makes him special," Dhoni said.

But Dhoni said Pathirana, who picked up the wickets of Nehal Wadhera (64), Tristan Stubbs (22) and Arshad Khan (1), should be handled carefully by Sri Lanka in international cricket.

"What's important is to keep an eye on how much cricket he is playing. I feel he should not play red-ball cricket, not even get close to it, even play only ICC tournaments with ODIs and keep the rest as less as possible, because he's not someone who'll change a lot," Dhoni said of the youngster who has played only one international match so far, a T20 game against Afghanistan in Dubai last year.

"This is what he'll do. So you can always use him at crucial times. But make sure he's fit and available for all the ICC tournaments and he'll be a great asset for Sri Lanka.

"Not to forget, he's a really young boy. Last time he came, he was very lean but has put on muscle and is stronger. I feel he'll serve for a long time in Sri Lankan cricket but he'll have to keep an eye on how much he bowls."

On Saturday, Pathirana bowled Wadhera with a scorching yorker -- his main weapon -- to take the steam out of the Mumbai batting.

Pathirana with a unique celebration of his hands in front of his chest and eyes in meditation said, "I'm a die-hard fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and have modelled my celebration after him."

The youngster then praised the Chennai team for giving him the exposure in the IPL.

"Now I'm getting more games and am happy. The team gave me a lot of confidence," he said.

"This is my best bowling figures in T20 I think, happy about that and contributing to the win." (with inputs from AFP)

ALSO READ:

• IPL 2023: Delhi's fourth win in five matches keeps slim playoff hopes alive

• IPL 2023: Chennai moves a step closer to playoffs with big win over Mumbai

• IPL 2023: Rajasthan eyes improved batting effort against Hyderabad

• Sports