Shabnim Ismail shatters record with fastest delivery ever in women's cricket

Former South Africa pacer Shabnim Ismail created history on Tuesday when she bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded in women's cricket.

Ismail broke the record with a delivery that clocked the speed of 132.1km/h (82.08mph) when bowling for the Mumbai Indians in their Women's Premier League (WPL) clash against the Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium.

It was the first time that a delivery in women's cricket has been clocked at a speed greater than 130km/h, with Ismail's thunderbolt smashing into the pad of former Australia captain Meg Lanning on the second ball of the third over of the match.

Ismail, who appeared for South Africa in all eight previous ICC Women's T20 World Cups and only retired from international cricket following last year's tournament on home soil, had previously been clocked as bowling at 128km/h (79.54mph) against the West Indies in 2016 and at 127km/h twice during the most recent edition of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in 2022.

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

Ismail's efforts were in vain as she delivered four expensive overs to finish with figures of 1/46 as the Indians went down to the Capitals by 29 runs in Delhi.