That moment which pumps up the adrenaline rush since you know a fast bowler is spurred and on a prowl for wickets. The quick soaring in at the batsman, building pace and momentum in his delivery stride, to hurl the cherry at the wickets for outfoxing the bats. His guile earns its moment with the batsman losing his wicket or many a time delivered to just rattle the bats with bounce and predominantly the speed. Yes, speed.
The technology now enables the speed of the ball that has been delivered to be measured with significant accuracy on the speedometer. Eyes instinctively turn towards to gaze at the speed once the ball has been delivered. Often leaving us dazed with amazement with the speed at which the ball was just delivered to the bat, as reflected in kms per hour (kmph).
Here’s a look at the Indian quicks who have burned the speedometer with their pace. Topping the list among Indian bowlers:
Javagal Srinath. As he hurled a 154.5 kmph beamer at the 1999 ICC World Cup match against arch-rivals Pakistan. Srinath’s smooth bowling action wherein he would cusp the ball in both palms at the time of jump before releasing it with fierce force helped him generate ample pace off the wicket.
Jasprit Bumrah: At the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the second test played at Perth’s Optus Stadium in December 2018, this Right Arm pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, clocked the speedgun for a 153 kmph delivery. Troubling the best batsmen across teams and formats with his toe-crushing yorkers, a choreographed control over line and length and deft variations in speed which is backed by a sling-arm action. Jasprit Bumrah consistently bowls in the range of 140s kmph.
Ishant Sharma: It was his first international tour with the senior team which heralded him as the quick to watch out for. He had rattled the then Aussie captain, Ricky Ponting, in a famous, inspiring, incisive spell of fast bowling in test match preceding the ODI, CB series. Against Australia at Adelaide Oval in that CB Series, on Feb 17, 2008, he unleashed a ripper at 152.6 kmph and frequently touched the 150kmph mark on that tour.
Varun Aaron: Varun had made headlines across the country with his raw pace which was as well noted by the selectors. He was soon inducted into the senior team. And though he reproduced the pace, he had established himself with, on international arena he was wayward and it cost a lot of runs. That fact as well Injuries pushed him out of sphere of reckoning. Varun, for the record hit the deck at a pacy 152.5 kmph against Sri Lanka in the ODI Series in 2014
Umesh Yadav: In his early enunciation into international cricket Umesh let loose the pace his bowling could generate, unrestrained, on the 22-yard pitch. Though poor control over line and length hurt his averages. A genuine quick but wayward he leaked runs. In the tri-series involving Australia, India and Sri Lanka, Umesh clocked 152.8 kmph versus Sri Lanka at Brisbane. As he found his groove in international cricket Umesh remodeled his bowling action to become a potent pace option for India in the last few years.
