Since the inception of the Indian Premier League(IPL) in 2008, sixteen pacers have bowled deliveries measuring between 150.7 kmph and 156.22 kmph 100 times. Delhi Capitals' (DC) Anrich Nortje bowled the fastest ball in the tournament history on Wednesday against Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The official IPL website displays only the top 100 instances when speed merchants have exceeded 150.7 kmph. South African Nortje exceeded the 150 kmph mark four times in an over on Wednesday, with his fastest ball being clocked 156.2 kmph.
Apart from Nortje, the other 15 bowlers who qualify for this list are Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Shaun Tait, Jofra Archer, Navdeep Saini, Lasith Malinga, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Billy Stanlake, Ishant Sharma, Morne Morkel, Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, and Veer Pratap Singh.
Nortje set the speed guns spinning during his fiery opening spell against RR at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday. Such was the pace he generated in his first two overs of the day that he relegated Steyn's eight-year-old record for the fastest ball (154.40 kmph) to number four on the list, taking the top three spots for himself in three consecutive deliveries.