Sri Lanka might have been thrashed by India in the U-19 World Cup match in Bloemfontein, South Africa, yesterday, but there was a moment to savour for the islanders, when their young pace sensation Matheesha Pathirana almost clocked the fastest delivery ever in the history of cricket.
The 17-year-old has been making waves with his pace and a slinging action similar to Sri Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga.
ALSO READ: Matheesha Pathirana, the new Malinga in town!
The incident happened in the fourth over of the Indian innings. Pathirana tried to bowl a fiery bouncer to Yashasvi Jaiswal but it went for a wide down the leg side. The speed gun showed that the delivery was bowled at 175kmph. The fastest delivery recorded till then was a 161.3kmph screamer from former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar against England in the ICC World Cup 2003.
Sri-Lankan U19 Pacer Pathirana clocked a stunning 175 kph on the speed gun in #U19CWC match Against India on a Wide Ball.
— Mahirat š¤¹š (@GOATKingKohli) January 20, 2020
On the right corner of the screen, the speed of the delivery showed at 108 mph. #INDvSL #INDU19vSLU19 #Cricket #CWCU19 pic.twitter.com/7uKD73zYn0
It meant that Pathirana's delivery was now the fastest across formats in international cricket. However, it was later reported that there was an error in recording the speed of the ball. The ICC is yet to issue a formal clarification.
The other bowlers who breached the 160kmph mark were Shaun Tait (161.1kmph in an ODI against England in 2010 at Lord's) and Brett Lee (161.1kmph in an ODI against New Zealand in 2005 at Napier).
Pathirana, however, failed to contain the Indian batsmen, leaking 49 runs in his eight overs, and the Lankans went on to lose the match by 90 runs.
In September last year, cricket writer Nibraz Ramzan shared the video of Pathirana in action on Twitter. Ramzan wrote that Pathirana went on to take six wickets for just seven runs. All this in his debut match for Trinity College in Kandy!Ā
