The rocket of Ismail!
Shabnim Ismail, a bowler from South Africa, made history by delivering the fastest ball in women’s cricket history. She broke the 130 kmph mark for the first time since speed guns were invented. Ismail broke the record while playing for the Mumbai Indians in a Women’s Premier League (WPL) match against the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Her thunderbolt struck former Australia captain Meg Lanning’s pad at 132.1 kmph (82.08 mph).
On Tuesday, on the second ball of the third over of the game, the MI players collectively appealed, but the umpire denied their request. Ismail, who represented South Africa in all eight previous ICC Women’s T20 World Cups and only gave up on playing cricket professionally after the domestic competition last year, had previously been recorded bowling at 128 mph (79.54 mph) against the West Indies in 2016 and twice during the 2022 Women’s World Cup.
Ismail downplayed the effort when questioned about breaking the record in a post-match interview, saying she “doesn’t actually look at the big screen when I’m bowling.” The Mumbai Indians were defeated by the Delhi Capitals by 29 runs, despite Ismail bowling four costly overs and finishing with a score of 1-46. Shafali Verma, in particular, sent her to the cleaners after hitting the bowler for three straight sixes in her third over. With eight points from five games, Delhi now sits two points ahead of Mumbai after their fourth straight victory.
