In the history of cricket, Shoaib Akhtar’s 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) delivery against Englands Nick Knight during the 2003 Cricket World Cup at Newlands, Cape Town, is considered the fastest ball ever bowled
Oct,19: In the history of cricket, Shoaib Akhtar’s 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) delivery against England’s Nick Knight during the 2003 Cricket World Cup at Newlands, Cape Town, is considered the fastest ball ever bowled. On Sunday, during the India vs Australia 1st ODI, the speedgun at the Optus Stadium in Perth showed an interesting number. On the first ball of the 1st ODI, Starc’s delivery to Rohit Sharma was clocked at 176.5 kph (109 mph) by the speed gun. Later, the broadcasters’ graphics said it was a 140.8 kmph (around 87 mph) delivery.
Stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh blew away India with his unbeaten 46 in a rain-curtailed game to steer Australia to their first ODI win with a seven-wicket triumph (DLS method) at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday. In the three-match series opener, rain interrupted the contest on four occasions, which didn’t help India’s cause. Australia remained disciplined throughout the chase, hardly faced any setbacks, and effortlessly hunted the paltry target.
This is India’s first defeat in ODIs in 2025, and their run of eight successive wins has come to an end with this.
After the DLS revised Australia’s target from 136/9 to 131 in a 26-over contest, Arshdeep Singh left Australia jolted with his left-arm swinging delivery to remove the destructive Travis Head. The Australian southpaw went to slice the ball, but holed out to Harshit Rana at deep on 8(5).
Australia’s stand-in captain, Mitchell Marsh, unleashed a counter-attack with three sixes on the trot in as many overs. Axar Patel pulled India back into the contest by luring Matthew Short (8) to give away an outside edge to Rohit Sharma. Josh Philippe and Marsh forged a 55-run stand to knock India off the perch and take Australia close to the finishing line.
Marsh and Philippe switched gears, with the latter slowly adopting the role of aggressor. After a run-a-ball 14, Philippe walloped back-to-back fours off Harshit Rana in the 13th over and then thumped Nitish Reddy for a six before Washington Sundar ended his exploits on 37(29), courtesy of a stunner from Arshdeep.
As Philippe walked back with a memorable return after four years, the fate of the fixture was pretty much sealed. Matthew Renshaw flexed a ramp shot for a six, and Mohammed Siraj caught the spotlight with his athleticism. He jumped in the air, arched back, caught the ball with his right hand and sent it back to the ground before it could cross the boundary rope.
KL Rahul dropped Renshaw on 12 off Nitish, and Renshaw went on to gently push the ball for a single to gun down the target and send Australia 1-0 ahead in the three-match series.(NDTV)
