Young fast bowler Umran Malik made waves in his first outing in IPL 2022, furthering his reputation as the most exciting Indian fast bowler to emerge in years.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad's fast bowler, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, first grabbed headlines last season when he bowled the fastest delivery of the IPL, clocking at 152.95 kph (95mph). That was not only the quickest delivery of the season, it is also one of the fastest balls bowled by an Indian in history.
After being retained by his franchise for this season, Malik, 22, was back in the thick of things in his first match against Rajasthan Royals.
He had a nervous start, taken for 21 runs by Jos Buttler with a dropped chance off a no-ball in it as well. Malik then made a fine comeback in his next three overs, picking up Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal through sheer pace.
Malik's speed maxed out at 150kph (93.2mph) on Tuesday and he consistently bowled at over 90mph throughout the spell. With the surfaces in Mumbai and Pune offering generous bounce like the ones expected in Australia, Malik's speed will be watched keenly by Indian cricket's decision-makers.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri, who has now turned commentator, said it is only a matter of time before Malik becomes an India player.
"There is no doubting his potential. This guy is an India player," Shastri said on Star Sports.
"He is consistent and I like his attitude. This kid can only learn. This guy has got genuine pace, if he hits the right areas, he is going to trouble a lot of batters."
Fastest deliveries bowled in history
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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
Malik's captain Kane Williamson hoped the fast bowler continues the upward trajectory in his game.
"Incredibly exciting, he's got that raw pace, hopefully he continues to evolve as a cricketer," Williamson said.
"He's young, got some experience last year which was really valuable and I'm sure he'll just continue to get better."
However, the match did not according to plan for Hyderabad.
Sanju Samson led from the front with a belligerent 55 as Rajasthan opened their season with an emphatic 61-run win over Hyderabad.
The captain guided his team to a massive 210-6 in Pune. Samson was the hero as he smashed three fours and five sixes in his 27-ball innings and put on a key stand of 73 with Padikkal, who made 41.
Royals pacer Prasidh Krishna (2-16) then rattled the top-order with movement and bounce to help restrict Hyderabad to 149-7 despite an unbeaten 57 by Aiden Markram.
Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal claimed three to reach 250 wickets in T20 matches while Kiwi quick Trent bowler took two wickets.
