Christchurch, New Zealand: The return of paceman Lasith Malinga to Sri Lanka's attack did not pay off as hoped on Saturday when he produced one of his most-expensive spells in the World Cup opening match loss to New Zealand.
Malinga was playing his first official one-day international since August when he suffered a serious ankle injury. Sri Lanka has been anxiously awaiting his return, expecting his pace, experience and his vaunted ability to bowl at the death to add a key piece to its Cup campaign.
But the slingy right-armer went wicketless and conceded 84 runs from his 10 overs on Saturday, the fourth-worst return of his one-day career.
