Who has bowled the fastest ball in the history of IPL?
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) speedster Mayank Yadav made a sensational debut in the IPL on Saturday, March 30, registering figures of 3/27 in his team's 21-run win over Punjab Kings (PBKS). Not only did Mayank walk away with the Player of the Match award for his brilliant effort with the ball, but also produced the fastest delivery in IPL 2024 so far.
Chasing LSG's total of 199/8, PBKS got off to a blazing start as openers Shikhar Dhawan (70 off 50) and Jonny Bairstow (42 off 29) added 102 in 11.4 overs. The right-arm pacer dismissed Bairstow with a short ball that the Punjab batter could only miscue towards deep-midwicket.
Incidentally, the first ball of the 12th over to Dhawan clocked 155.8 kph, the fastest delivery in IPL 2024 so far. The overall record for the fastest delivery in the T20 league is held by Shaun Tait (157.7 kph).
Following Bairstow's dismissal in the IPL 2024 match on Saturday, Mayank also got the scalps of Prabhsimran Singh (19 off 7) and Jitesh Sharma (6) - both batters perished to the short ball. Dhawan and Sam Curran (0) also fell to Mohsin Khan for consecutive deliveries. What seemed a promising chase at one point fizzled out as LSG pacer Mayank made an exceptional star to his IPL career.
Shaun Tait has bowled the fastest ball in IPL history
While Mayank sent down the fastest ball in IPL 2024 on Saturday in the match against Punjab, former Australian speedster Tait holds the record for having bowled the fastest ever delivery in the Indian Premier League. He sent down a 157.7 kph thunderbolt to Aaron Finch while representing Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 2011 edition.
New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson is second on the list. He bowled the fastest delivery of the IPL 2022 edition, clocking 157.3 kph in the final, representing Gujarat Titans (GT) against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Mayank fell short of the Indian record for the fastest ball in the IPL. That honor is still held by Umran Malik, who bowled a 157 kph delivery for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 2022 edition. Impressively, Umran had crossed the 150 kph mark more than once during the competition.
South Africa and Delhi Capitals speedster Anrich Nortje is ahead of Mayank on the list of bowlers to have bowled the fastest deliveries in the IPL. Nortje bowled one at a speed of 156.2 kph during the 2020 edition in the UAE. Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler was the batter on strike when Nortje send down the delivery that crossed the 156 kph mark.