Shabnim Ismail. (Photo Source: WPL)
South African pacer Shabnim Ismail etched her name in cricket history by delivering the fastest-recorded ball ever in women’s cricket history. Representing Mumbai Indians, the right-arm pacer unleashed a thunderbolt that clocked an astonishing 132.1 kilometres per hour against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, March 4.
The incident occurred in the second ball of the third over, as Ismail charged in to bowl to Delhi skipper Meg Lanning. Failing to judge the speed of the delivery, the former Australia skipper missed it as it crashed into her front pad. The defending champions appealed for LBW but the onfield umpire turned it down.
Meanwhile, after the end of the innings, Ismail was asked if this was the fastest she has ever bowled, to which, the 35-year-old mentioned that she doesn’t check the big screen when she’s bowling.
“(I don’t) look at the big screen when I am bowling,” Ismail said while talking to JioCinema.
In addition to her WPL exploits, Ismail also holds the record for the fastest delivery in international women’s cricket. She had previously clocked at 128 km/h against the West Indies in 2016 and achieved 127 km/h twice during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2022. However, she could never cross the 130 kmph barrier previously, which changed against Delhi.
Delhi Capitals defeated Mumbai Indians women by 29 runs
When it comes to her performance, Ismail leaked 46 runs in four overs as Delhi posted 192 runs in the first innings. Lanning and Shafali set the tone of the match, which Jemimah Rodrigues later capitalized. Notably, Shafali smashed 28 runs off 12 deliveries to give the perfect start to Delhi, while Lanning made 53 runs off 38 deliveries. Jemimah later joined the party and hit 69* runs off 33 deliveries, to give Delhi the edge in the break.
During the run chase, Mumbai struggled right from the start. They were reduced to 29/3 but even so, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side didn’t give up. Towards the end, Amanjot Kaur and Sanjeevan Sajana played some good cricket but couldn’t get the job done as Delhi won the match by 29 runs.