WPL: Shabnim Ismail bowls fastest ball in history of women's cricket

It was a night of history in Arun Jaitely Stadium, New Delhi as South African pacer Shabnim Ismail bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded in women's cricket on Tuesday.

Ismail breached the 130kph barrier for the first time since the introduction of speed guns in the first match of the Delhi leg of the Women's Premier League (WPL).

Playing for Mumbai Indians against Delhi Capitals, Ismail shattered the record by clocking 132.1km/h (82.08mph), her thunderbolt smashing into the pad of former Australia captain Meg Lanning.

It was the second ball of the third over of the match on Tuesday, prompting the MI players to appeal in unison, only to be turned down by the umpire.

In the past, Ismail has recorded 128 km/h and 127 km/h at previous ICC Women's World Cups. She bowled 128 km/h against West Indies in 2016 and then repeated it in the 2022 Women's World Cup.

She recently retired from international cricket.

When asked during a post-match interview about breaking the record, Ismail played down the effort and indicated she "doesn't look at the big screen when I'm bowling."

Ismail, however, delivered four expensive overs to finish with figures of 1/46 as the Mumbai Indians went down to the Delhi Capitals by 29 runs. She was taken to the cleaners by Shafali Verma for three consecutive sixes in her third over.

This was Delhi's fourth win on the trot as they moved two points clear of Mumbai with eight points from five matches.