New Delhi: A video is doing the rounds on internet which shows 17-year-old Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana bowling a delivery at 175 kmph against India in the ongoing U-19 World Cup in South Africa.
Pathirana grabbed eyeballs as he bowled a wide delivery to Yashasvi Jaiswal, which was recorded at 175kph (108mph) initially. Later, it turned out that there was an error in the recording. The speed-gun initially recorded the extraordinary 175kph pace of the delivery as it zoomed past Jaiswal and thudded into the wicketkeeper’s gloves. India won the match by 90 runs.
A user shared the clip on Twitter with the caption, “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.”
The tweet went viral and social media has been abuzz with reactions. A user wrote, “Srilankans are expert in horizontal arm bowling.”
Another post read, “If speed shown is correct then ball should not have dipped in keepers hand, it should have gone upside probably above keeper as it was bouncer.”
“Trinity College Kandy produces another Slinga!! 17 Year old Matheesha Pathirana took 6 wickets for 7 Runs on his debut game for Trinity,” wrote another.
A Tweeple remarked, “Haha, less focus on line more on speed. Fun to watch.”
The fastest ever recorded delivery in international cricket was bowled by former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar (161.3kph) against England in the 2003 World Cup.
