No, Matheesha Pathirana Didn't Break Shoaib Akhtar¡¯s Record For The Fastest Ball Ever Recorded
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was fast and furious. His balls zipped through at pace and he made the batsmen dance to his tunes. His rapid speed once recorded at 161 kmph on the speed gun the fastest ball ever recorded Yet for a day at least it was said to have been broken by a little known Sri LankanMatheesha Pathirana.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was fast and furious. His balls zipped through at pace and he made the batsmen dance to his tunes.
His rapid speed once recorded at 161 kmph on the speed gun, the fastest ball ever recorded. Yet, for a day at least it was said to have been broken by a little known Sri Lankan Matheesha Pathirana. It had send the people into a frenzy.
During the game against India, in the fourth over, Pathirana bowled a wild ball down the leg side. The umpire called it a wide rightly, but it the speed meter showed the ball clocking at 175 kmph.
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 World Cup 2003.
However, it turned out that there was an error in the recording. Shoaib Akhtar, therefore, still owns the record for the fastest ball delivered.
Here are the top-3 fastest balls bowled in the history of senior international cricket:
161.3kph: Shoaib Akhtar, ODI v England in 2003
161.1kph: Shaun Tait, ODI v England in 2010
161.1kph: Brett Lee, ODI v NZ in 2005
The young, skiddy customer had also grabbed the headline last year claiming 6 wickets for just 7 runs in a college game in September 2019. Playing for Trinity College, Kandy, Matheesha Pathirana could be seen bowling deadly yorkers to fox the batsmen.
Trinity College Kandy produces another Slinga !!
¡ª Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) September 26, 2019
17 Year old Matheesha Pathirana took 6 wickets for 7 Runs on his debut game for Trinity !! #lka pic.twitter.com/q5hrI0Gl68
So many similarities with his fellow countryman and legendary death-overs king Lasith Malinga. He had an off day against India in the first game in first game at the U19 World Cup, but there is potential in him to be his country's next Malinga.
For now, Shoaib Akhtar's 17 year old record remains intact.
