The duo have met each other on quite a few instances across their careers.
Veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has revealed the toughest bowler he has faced in his career.
Recently, the dynamic right-hander was asked about the toughest bowler he locked horns with.
Karthik made this revelation during an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) session on Reddit.
Replying to a fan’s query, Karthik wrote former Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga’s name.
Karthik replied, “The bowler that I found the hardest, Lasith Malinga! I really found it very hard to pick him! He was a nightmare, a nightmare really… no doubt!”
The wicket-keeper batter and the pacer have met each other on few instances across their careers.
In ODIs, Malinga has dismissed Karthik twice, allowing 63 runs from 53 balls. In T20Is, Malinga dismissed Karthik on the only ball he faced. During the IPL, playing for the Mumbai Indians, Malinga has dismissed Karthik three times, with Karthik scoring only 12 runs from 17 balls. Clearly, going by statistics, Malinga has had the upper hand.
The 39-year-old pulled curtains on his illustrious career earlier this year during Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). He played his last match as RCB lost to Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator.
He had a mixed international career as he couldn’t capitalise on his second chances. Karthik may feel a tad unfulfilled when he looks back, having an in-and-out history with the Indian team.
While his middling performances did not allow him to cement a place in the national team, Karthik did manage to feature in the 2013 Champions Trophy in England which India won under Dhoni’s leadership.
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Karthik finished his career with over 9k first-class runs, with 1752 runs in ODIs, 1025 runs in Tests and 686 runs in T20Is. In his 17 years of IPL career, Karthik amassed 4842 runs.
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