During the seventh match of the ongoing ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup between India and Sri Lanka in Bloemfontein, Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana took everyone by surprise when one of his deliveries clocked a stunning 175 kph on the speed gun.
It all happened in the fourth over of India’s innings. Pathirana dug the ball on the pitch hard, but the leather went down the leg side. The keeper moved on to his right and gathered the ball, and the umpire gave it a wide. Then on the right corner of the screen, the speed of the delivery showed 108 mph. It can spark doubts about some technical glitch taking place while calculating the speed.
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Before this, the fastest ever recorded delivery in international cricket was bowled by former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar when he let one rip at 161.3kph (100mph) in an ODI vs England during the 2003 World Cup.
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Though fears of a technical error haunting the speed-gun have started surfacing, there has been no official denial or correction from the ICC regarding the same. This means that the 17-year-old Pathirana can for now lay claim to the world record.
As far as the match is concerned, India defeated Sri Lanka by 90 runs after the latter were bundled out for 207 in 45.2 overs chasing a 298-run target.
