Ehsan Malinga shines amid a record SRH chase against MI, claiming the Purple Cap with a disciplined spell and continuing his impressive rise in IPL 2026.
IMAGE: Eshan Malinga celebrates with Pat Cummins after dismissing Suryakumar Yadav during their IPL 2026 match at Wankhede, Mumbai, April 29, 2026. Photograph: BCCI
On an evening when the batters ran riot and Sunrisers Hyderabad overhauled Mumbai Indians' 243 for a record run chase at the Wankhede to pull off a comfortable six-wicket win, one bowler outshone the rest and quietly continued his purple patch.
Key Points
- Despite a batting-dominated game at the Wankhede on Wednesday, Ehsan Malinga stood out with a controlled spell of 1/29 in 4 overs..
- The 25-year-old is now the Purple Cap holder with 14 wickets in 9 matches.
- Malinga impressed with variations, reverse swing and smart execution, conceding just one six and no boundaries for most of his spell.
- After a slow start (3 wickets in 4 games), he bounced back with 12 wickets in the next five matches.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's Ehsan Malinga bowled with precision and smarts to finish with figures of 1 for 29 off his four overs to become the Purple Cap holder for the time-being.
The 25 year old now has 14 wickets from 9 matches and 31 overs, at an average of 18.93 and an economy of 7.25. This, even as batters go pounding the ball and break record after record with IPL 2026 becoming a batter's tournament.
His 1-29 amid the run fest at the Wankhede on Wednesday was an exhibition of variation, execution and intelligence.
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While MI openers Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks sent Pat Cummins and Praful Hinge to the cleaners, Malinga, called upon to bowl the third over, started his first spell with slower deliveries and a couple of short balls, forcing Rickelton into false timing his strokes. Malinga conceded a wide and seven runs in the over.
Ehsan Malinga's stupendous comeback in IPL 2026
IMAGE: Suryakumar Yadav stands in disbelief after being dismissed by Ehsan Malinga. Photograph: Indian Premier League/X
The Sri Lankan bowled a game-changing 2nd spell in the 9th over that saw saw SRH get their second wicket. A woefully out of form Suryakumar Yadav, coming in at the fall of Jacks, got off the mark with a boundary and a single.
In the very next over he looked dodgy against Malinga, miscuing the first two deliveries. But Malinga cut short Surya's struggles as the batter looked to play another pull off the short ball, only for Abhishek Sharna to pouch it at fine leg. His second over cost just three runs and a wicket.
Malinga bowled another quiet over, giving away just 7 runs in the 13th even as Rickelton continued to find the big runs at will.
He conceded 16 runs and got a wicket in 3 overs, before giving away 13 runs in his final over as Hardik Pandya lofted him for a six off the very first ball of the 18th over.
That he gave away no fours and conceded just one six when he missed his length, is testament to Malinga's accuracy and trust in his skills.
Early in IPL 2026, he managed just three wickets in four games. But the Sri Lankan made a fantastic comeback with an impressive return of 12 wickets in the next five games -- 1/29 vs MI, 2/38 vs Rajasthan Royals, 4/32 vs Delhi Capitals, 3/29 vs Chennai Super Kings and 2/31 vs Rajasthan Royals.
When Malinga has the ball in hand, there is a always something special not far away.
His 4 for 32 against Delhi Capitals, where he bowled an exceptional 10 dot balls, was the third best figures by overseas bowlers for SRH after 4/11 by Mohammed Nabi (vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Hyderabad, 2019) and 4/22 by Darren Sammy (vs Punjab Kings in Mohali, 2013).
Malinga said that en route his four-for against DC, he stuck to the basics. And the most pleasing wicket was executing the reverse swing to dismiss Nitish Rana. He also revealed that before joining SRH for IPL 2026 he spent two months working on his reverse swing with Lasith Malinga in Sri Lanka.
From tennis-ball cricket to IPL's game-changer
IMAGE: Ehsan Malinga is all smiles as he dons the Purple Cap. Photograph: Indian Premier League/X
A gem of a talent, Ehsan Malinga's mastery of the reverse swing comes from his childhood experiences. Having started out with tennis ball cricket, he learnt the magic variations early on, including the quick bouncer, and then added the slower bouncer to his repertoire.
Hailing from a small town, Ratnapur, and a modest background, he began with hard-ball cricket only at 18.
Later on, on the insistence of his mother, Malinga enrolled himself in a fast-bowling contest -- the Airtel Sri Lanka's Fastest in Colombo that crowned the fastest bowlers in the country.
At 18, he won the contest bowling at 141kmph!
His impact in the ACC Asia Cup 2024 -- 6 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 20.33 and a strike rate of 6.36 -- saw SRH take an interest in the slingy pacer and he was bought for Rs 1.20 crore at the auction ahead of the 2025 season.
Malinga gets praise from SRH skipper Cummins
SRH got their value for money with returns of 13 wickets in 7 matches. He was retained for IPL 2026 and the story couldn't have panned better for Malinga and the franchise.
Not only has Malinga impressed with the ball, he has also shown sparks of brilliance on the field -- against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 2, he took a sharp catch to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane and effected a run-out to send back the in-form Angrish Raghuvanshi to put SRH in the driver's seat.
Malinga is the full package and a game-changer.
And Pat Cummins acknowledged it at the post-match presentation on Wednesday.
'Eshan Malinga is the main reason why we’re on a winning streak.'
SRH's chances to repeat their 2016 title-winning run hinges on the bowlers as much as the batters, and Eshan Malinga will be one of the lynchpins.