Umran Malik's fastest delivery may not find place in record books due to major error

A bizarre moment occurred during India vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI match in Guwahati on Tuesday, when it looked like Indian youngster Umran Malik has broken his own record of bowling the fastest ball by an Indian bowler. Umran finished the match with the figures of 3/57 in eight overs as India went on to claim victory by 67 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. However, he became a point of discussion for fans on social media due to another reason. 

Umran delivered the record delivery in the fourth ball of the 14th over of Sri Lanka’s run chase, which was also his second over of the spell. While the Hindi broadcast on Star Sports did not show the speed of the delivery at the bottom of the screen initially, it showed the speeds of each ball in the over, moments later. It was the fourth ball of the over which displayed a speed of 156kph.

However, in the English broadcast of the match, the same delivery was clocked at 145.7kph. This raised doubts about the actual speed of the ball bowled by the 23-year-old speedster. If indeed the ball was bowled at 156kph, it would have handed Umran the record of bowling the fastest delivery by an Indian in T20Is, ODIs, and also in the Indian Premier League. 

Umran Malik has bowled the fastest delivery by Indian pacers in T20Is and IPL

It is pertinent to mention that Umran registered the fastest speed by an Indian pacer in T20Is by delivering the ball at 155kph against Sri Lanka last week. At the same time, he bowled a 157kph delivery in the IPL 2022 in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s match against Mumbai Indians. Coming back to the over, Umran soon listed his name in the wicket-takers column by removing Charith Asalanka in the last ball of the 14th over.

"The input was to make the most of my pace"

He later went on to dismiss Pathum Nissanka for 72 runs in the 31st over, before removing Dunith Wellalage for a duck in the 33rd over. Revealing his thoughts after the match, “I have played 6 games, I just want to bowl well and in the right areas. The wicket was flat, I spoke with Siraj bhai, Shami bhai, and the input was to make the most of my pace. I want to be as accurate as possible”.