[Watch] When Matheesha Pathirana Bowled A 175 kmph Ball!

image-lnslujo5Matheesha Pathirana at the 2023 World Cup (AP Photo))

Young Sri Lankan speedster Matheesha Pathirana shot himself to stardom with a 19-wicket season haul for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their triumphant run in 2023. Unsurprisingly, the cricketer was fast-tracked into Sri Lanka’s national setup and became one of their first-choice bowlers at the 2023 World Cup in India.

However, Pathirana displayed the first signs of his bowling brilliance back in January 2020 itself, at a time when he was just 17 years old. In an Under-19 World Cup match against India in Bloemfontein, the speed maverick hurled down a 175 km/hr (108 mph) thunderbolt to Yashasvi Jaiswal to record the fastest-ever delivery across all levels of international cricket.


Throwback to Matheesha Pathirana’s 175 km/hr bullet

Matheesha Pathirana was selected to represent Sri Lanka’s Under-19 side at the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa back in 2020 under the guidance of Nipun Dhananjaya. The speedster turned up for his side in their opening Group A game against their Indian counterparts in Bloemfontein on January 19.

Even though the contest signalled the emergence of Indian stars Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma through their match-winning knocks, it was Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana who grabbed all the big headlines by sending down the fastest-ever delivery recorded across all international matches.

The incident occurred during the Indian innings when Pathirana hurled down a wide bouncer to Jaiswal and the delivery itself clocked at a staggering 175 km/hr (108 mph) on the speed metre.


Watch: Pathirana 175 km/hr thunderbolt to Jaiswal

Pathirana’s 175 km/hr soon became a subject of debate within the cricketing spectrum with many speculating his bullet delivery to be a mere technical error.

Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the Sri Lankan bowling prodigy continues to remain a deadly component with the ball and his sheer pace continues to trouble opposition batters.