Umran Malik made an unforgettable impact on debut in the Indian Premier League as the Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler, who is from Jammu and Kashmir, delivered the fastest ball by an Indian in this year's tournament.
Right arm fast bowler Malik, 21, was clocked at 151.03 kph (93.8mph) during Sunday's match in Dubai. Even though his team ended up on the losing side, Malik's raw pace was one of the highlights of the game.
In fact, during his four-over spell, the young quick had clocked the seventh fastest ball bowled in IPL 2021.
Malik was not even supposed to be playing. He was a net bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad and had signed a short-term contract with the team as Covid-19 replacement for left-arm seamer T Natarajan.
Even at the domestic level, there is not a lot known about the Jammu-based pacer as he has played just three white-ball matches so far. He took three wickets in a T20 match - against Railways - but also went for 98 in a 50-over game.
Malik is the fourth cricketer from the troubled region to feature in the IPL after Parvez Rasool, Rasikh Salam and Abdul Samad.
The young pacer's exploits, however, were not enough to help his team to victory. Hyderabad batsmen struggled to make any impact as they crawled to 115-8, which Kolkata overhauled in the final over of the match. Opening batsman Shubman Gill top-scored with 57 to keep his team's playoffs hopes alive. Malik finished with 0-27 from his four overs.
Fastest deliveries bowled in cricket
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Shoaib Akhtar (161.3kph / 100.2mph): The Rawalpindi Express is the fastest bowler the world has seen. The Pakistan quick made it official during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa against England, where he clocked 161.3kph while bowling to Nick Knight. He had already breached the 100mph mark at home against New Zealand the previous year but the speed guns used then were not approved by the governing body. PA / AFP -
Shaun Tait (161.1kph / 100.1mph): The 'Wild Thing' bowled a thunderbolt at 161.1 kph during an ODI against England at Lord’s in 2010. A few months earlier, the Aussie had bowled one just below the 100mph mark against Pakistan during a T20 in Melbourne. However, Tait struggled to sustain his pace in ODI cricket, let alone Tests. Action Images -
Brett Lee (161.1kph / 100.1mph): Just like Akhtar, the Australian is considered as one of the very few genuine fast bowlers of modern times who sustained their pace in white and red-ball cricket. Lee hit his absolute peak against the Kiwis in Napier, where he crossed the 100mph barrier against batsman Craig Cumming who struggled to put bat to ball. Reuters -
Jeff Thomson (160.6kph / 99.8mph): The Australian is seen by many as the benchmark of genuine pace bowling. ‘Thommo’ had a very simple approach to bowling: “I just shuffle in … and go WHANG.” That ‘whang’ was once clocked at 160.6kph during a study in Perth in 1976. Thomson maintains if he had been timed using modern speed guns and parameters, the radar would have read 180kph. Action Images -
Mitchell Starc (160.4kph / 99.6mph): The left-arm quick is one of the very few bowlers who can swing the ball even at 95mph. Starc registered his fastest delivery during a Test against the Kiwis on a dead surface in Perth. The full length delivery was defended by batsman Ross Taylor, which was a bit of an anti-climax. The batsman was dropped next ball, by the way. Reuters -
Andy Roberts (159.5kph / 99.1mph): The Windies quick was seen as the more dangerous among the Caribbean quartet of fast bowlers as unlike Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall, he was deceptively fast and changed his pace up to surprise batsmen. His fastest ball bowled was against Australia in 1975 in what was then a haven for pacers – Perth. Getty Images -
Fidel Edwards (157.7 kph / 97.9mph): Not many talk of the diminutive West Indies pacers when discussing genuine pacers but he was right up there. The right-arm quick was famously selected to play Test cricket as an 18-year-old after bowling just four balls to Brian Lara during a net session. In 2003 against South Africa at the Wanderers, Edwards hurled his fastest ever delivery at a shade under 98mph. PA -
Mitchell Johnson (156.8kph / 97.4mph): Another Aussies on this list. You never knew which Mitch would turn up for any game. But when he was switched on, he was one of the scariest bowlers to face. Labelled by Dennis Lillee as a ‘once in a generation bowler’, Johnson’s fastest recorded delivery came, unsurprisingly, against the Englishmen at the MCG. Reuters -
Mohammad Sami (156.4kph / 97.1mph): The right-arm pacer was at one point as fast as Shoaib Akhtar but inconsistent performances meant he was quickly forgotten once he lost his place in the team. His quickest recorded delivery was against Zimbabwe in Sharjah in 2003. AFP -
Dale Steyn (156.2kph / 97mph): An all-time great bowler, Steyn had more pace than he knew how to handle at the start of his career. Spent the best part of a decade terrorising batsmen with late swing and pace, which was once clocked at 156.2kph while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL in 2010. Remained surprisingly fit during the peak of his career. Reuters
