Eshan Malinga has become one of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s most reliable weapons in the back half of innings, and his value is growing clearer in matches like SRH’s contest against Chennai Super Kings. In a side built for pace and pressure, he stands out not through noise or speed alone, but through control, subtle movement, and a rare ability to make the old ball talk.
That skill has turned him into a major factor in IPL 2026 planning around SRH’s bowling attack. Against CSK, he showed why he is viewed internally as a quiet match-winner, with two key wickets and tight spells that changed the direction of the chase.
Why Malinga stands out
Malinga is not the most eye-catching fast bowler in the league, and he does not rely on unusual action or extreme pace. Instead, he works as a disciplined operator who understands how to use seam position, surface wear, and ball condition to his advantage.
His method is often grouped with reverse swing, though the technical picture is more nuanced. With an upright seam and a consistent release, the ball can move toward the shinier side, which is closer to contrast swing, but in modern cricket that kind of movement is commonly placed under the reverse-swing label.
What makes Malinga different is how regularly he produces that effect. The reference match noted that he reversed the ball as early as the 12th over in one previous game, and the movement was strong enough to register more than two degrees of tail.
A bowler built for the second half
Malinga’s role at SRH is shaped by when he bowls, not only how he bowls. His deliveries have come in the second half of innings 60% of the time in the IPL, which underlines how strongly the franchise trusts him with an older ball.
That trust makes sense at Hyderabad, where the outfield is described as hard and bare and the pitch offers little early help. Bowlers often try to rough up one side of the ball as quickly as possible so they can exploit movement later, and Malinga is especially effective once that stage arrives.
His numbers back that up. Since the start of IPL 2025, among 26 fast bowlers who have delivered 100 or more balls in the back half of innings, only Prasidh Krishna has a better average than Malinga’s 14.05.
Elite company in economy and strike rate
Malinga’s efficiency also places him among the league’s best in a demanding phase of the match. Only Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Marco Jansen and Pat Cummins have been more economical than his 9.14 among those bowlers.
The names above are not surprising. Bumrah is widely regarded as one of the greatest white-ball bowlers, Krishna and Jansen bring height that aids bounce and movement, while Cummins has long been one of the game’s premier fast bowlers across formats.
Malinga’s strike rate also stands out when viewed against a wider IPL sample. Among fast bowlers who have bowled at least 200 balls in the IPL since last year, only Anshul Kamboj has been better in that measure.
How he changed the CSK chase
Against CSK, SRH defended 194 and began by attacking with short balls, even with the new ball. Praful Hinge was hit for a six first ball, Nitish Kumar Reddy dismissed Sanju Samson with a caught pull, and Sakib Hussain struggled for control with five wides down the leg side.
Malinga added to the pressure with a hard delivery that brushed the glove of Ruturaj Gaikwad on the way to the keeper. The fielders also kept sending the ball back on the bounce where possible, trying to rough it up and prepare it for later movement.
By the time Malinga returned for his second spell in the 11th over, the ball was in the right condition. CSK still needed only 84 from the final ten overs with seven wickets in hand, but Malinga shifted the match with the wicket of Sarfaraz Khan in that over and then removed Matthew Short in the 15th.
Both dismissals came through swing, and his three overs with the old ball cost only 19 runs while producing two wickets. He also stayed unpredictable by mixing in the odd short ball and slower ball, which helped prevent batters from settling into a pattern.
A quiet advantage for SRH
Malinga’s emergence gives SRH a rare edge that can be easy to miss on first viewing. He does not rely on spectacle, but he offers a repeatable skill that becomes more valuable as innings develop and the ball wears down.
With Pat Cummins expected to return, SRH’s Hyderabad matches could become particularly interesting for old-ball bowling. There are also signs that Sakib Hussain may still have more to show with reverse swing, but Malinga already looks like the most dependable secret in the attack.
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