Shabnim Ismail records the fastest delivery ever bowled in women's cricket history

On Tuesday, Shabnim Ismail, the former South African pacer, made history as she bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded in Women’s cricket.

The 35-year-old pacer clocked a speed of 132.1 kmph (82.08 mph) when bowling for the Mumbai franchise in the Women’s T20 League clash against Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. 

It happened for the first time in the history of Women’s cricket that a bowler has clocked a speed greater than 130 kmph. Ismail’s thunderbolt striked into the pad of ex-Australian captain Meg Lanning on the second ball of the third over of the match. 

Ismail featured for the Proteas in all eight Women’s T20 World Cups and retired from international cricket after last year’s tournament on her home soil. She previously clocked 128 kmph (79.54 mph) against the West Indies in 2016 and a speed of 127 kmph twice during the last Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2022. 

When questioned about breaking the record during the post-match conference, Ismail humbly answered that  she "doesn't actually look at the big screen when bowling."

However, all her efforts went in vain as she bowled four expensive overs to finish with figures of 1/46 as the defending champions lost the match to Delhi by a margin of 29 runs.