Matheesha Pathirana, the 17-year-old fast bowler from Sri Lanka, produced an astonishingly fast delivering clocking 175 kmph on the speed gun during a match against India in the ongoing ICC U19 World Cup on Sunday. Pathirana delivery was believed to be the fastest ball in the history of cricket across all formats. Did the Lankan really bowled that quick?
Bowling to Indian under 19 batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal, Pathirana hurled a wayward delivery which was recorded at 175kph (108mph) on the speed gun. It was later confirmed that a technical error lead to the ‘fastest ball’ confusion. The record is still with Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan who had clocked 161.3 kmph against England in an ODI which was played at Newlands during 2003 World Cup.
Sri-Lankan U19 Pacer Pathirana clocked a stunning 175 kph on the speed gun in #U19CWC match Against India on a Wide Ball.
On the right corner of the screen, the speed of the delivery showed at 108 mph. #INDvSL #INDU19vSLU19 #Cricket #CWCU19 pic.twitter.com/7uKD73zYn0
— Mahirat ???????? (@GOATKingKohli) January 20, 2020
Other than Shoaib Akhtar, Australian fast bowlers Shaun Tait and Brett Lee are the other two bowlers to feature in this elite list. Brett Lee had bowled a ripper which clocked 161.1 kmph during an ODI against New Zealand at Napier back in 2005. Shaun Tait later went on to equal the record as he too bowled a ball at 161.1 kmph against England at Lord’s in 2010.
During the Under-19 World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka, Indian colts managed a comfortable win in the first match of their campaign. India is the defending champions and are looking to make sure they retain the prestigious trophy.
India Under 19 squad for World Cup: Priyam Garg (captain), Dhruv Chand Jurel( vice-captain) Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kartik Tyagi, Atharva Ankolekar, Kumar Kushagra, Sushant Mishra,Tilak Varma, Divyaansh Saxena, Shashwat Rawat, Siddhesh Veer, Shubhang Hegde, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Singh, Vidyadhar Patil.