Fastest Balls in IPL
The fastest ball in IPL history is Shaun Tait’s 157.7 kmph delivery for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Daredevils in 2011. Through the completed 2026 season, no bowler has beaten that mark, although Lockie Ferguson’s 157.3 kmph for Gujarat Titans in the 2022 final and Umran Malik’s 157.0 kmph for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2022 remain the only other deliveries recorded above 157 kmph in the league. The fastest ball of the 2026 season was Ashok Sharma’s 154.2 kmph yorker for Gujarat Titans against Rajasthan Royals.
Fastest Balls in IPL History: The All-Time List
The IPL has been the stage for some of the quickest bowling ever recorded in T20 cricket. Speed-gun readings vary slightly between broadcasters and data providers, so figures below are the widely reported speeds for each delivery. The list is dominated by overseas quicks, but two Indian bowlers, Umran Malik and Mayank Yadav, have broken into the top tier, and the 2026 season added another Indian name to the 150-plus club.
| Rank | Bowler | Speed (kmph) | Team | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Tait | 157.7 | Rajasthan Royals | 2011 |
| 2 | Lockie Ferguson | 157.3 | Gujarat Titans | 2022 |
| 3 | Umran Malik | 157.0 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2022 |
| 4 | Mayank Yadav | 156.7 | Lucknow Super Giants | 2024 |
| 5 | Anrich Nortje | 156.2 | Delhi Capitals | 2020 |
| 6 | Umran Malik | 156.0 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2022 |
| 7 | Mayank Yadav | 155.8 | Lucknow Super Giants | 2024 |
| 8 | Ashok Sharma | 154.2 | Gujarat Titans | 2026 |
| 9 | Lockie Ferguson | 153.2 | Punjab Kings | 2025 |
| 10 | Jofra Archer | 152.3 | Rajasthan Royals | 2025 |
Shaun Tait and the 157.7 kmph Record That Still Stands
Shaun Tait’s 157.7 kmph delivery to Aaron Finch in 2011 remains the fastest ball ever recorded in the IPL, more than a decade and a half after it was bowled. Tait was one of the most explosive fast bowlers of his generation, and the delivery has survived challenges from every generation of IPL quicks since. Lockie Ferguson came closest in the 2022 final, when his 157.3 kmph ball for Gujarat Titans fell just 0.4 kmph short of the record.
It is worth noting that Tait’s IPL record is not the world record. The fastest delivery in international cricket is Shoaib Akhtar’s 161.3 kmph ball for Pakistan against England at the 2003 World Cup. Brett Lee and Shaun Tait himself both recorded 161.1 kmph in international cricket. No IPL delivery has ever reached 160 kmph on a verified speed gun, which underlines how rare genuine extreme pace really is.
Umran Malik and Mayank Yadav: India’s Fastest IPL Bowlers
Umran Malik became the fastest Indian bowler in IPL history in 2022, when he clocked 157.0 kmph for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Delhi Capitals and followed it with a 156.0 kmph delivery in the same season. His emergence from Jammu and Kashmir, with no major domestic reputation at the time, made him one of the breakout stories of that season and earned him an India call-up.
Mayank Yadav matched that excitement in 2024. The Lucknow Super Giants quick bowled 155.8 kmph on debut against Punjab Kings and then produced a 156.7 kmph thunderbolt against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the fastest ball of the 2024 season. The two Indian speedsters are separated by just 0.3 kmph on their career-best IPL speeds, and their rivalry has become one of the most talked-about pace stories in Indian cricket.
Fastest Balls in IPL 2025: Lockie Ferguson Leads Again
The 2025 season did not produce a delivery that threatened the all-time record, but it did produce a consistent group of 150-plus bowlers. Lockie Ferguson, by then playing for Punjab Kings, topped the season’s speed charts with a 153.2 kmph delivery against Lucknow Super Giants on 1 April 2025. Ferguson has now appeared on both the all-time list and the 2025 season list, a reminder of his longevity as one of the league’s genuine quicks.
Behind him, Jofra Archer produced the second-fastest ball of the 2025 season for Rajasthan Royals, clocked at 152.3 kmph against Gujarat Titans, while Kagiso Rabada reached 151.6 kmph for Gujarat Titans against Punjab Kings. Anrich Nortje, then with Kolkata Knight Riders, recorded several deliveries above 150 kmph, including a 151.6 kmph ball against Punjab Kings, and Prasidh Krishna became the first Indian bowler to pass 150 kmph that season, also reaching 150.6 kmph.
Fastest Balls in IPL 2026: Ashok Sharma Breaks Through
The 2026 season produced a new Indian pace story. Ashok Sharma, a 23-year-old Gujarat Titans quick from Rajasthan’s Aravali Cricket Club, bowled the fastest delivery of the season at 154.2 kmph against Rajasthan Royals on 4 April 2026 at Ahmedabad. The ball was a yorker to Dhruv Jurel on the final delivery of the 16th over, and it came two balls after Sharma had already clocked 150.7 kmph. He breached 150 kmph three times in that four-over spell, showing that his pace was sustained rather than a one-off effort.
Sharma had earlier passed Anrich Nortje’s 150.9 kmph, which had been the season benchmark from the opening week. Sharma’s rise was rapid: he had been the leading wicket-taker in the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 22 wickets in 10 matches, and Gujarat Titans signed him for Rs 90 lakh at the IPL 2026 auction. One report later in the season credited his Gujarat Titans teammate Mohammed Siraj with a 154.8 kmph delivery against Chennai Super Kings, which would have edged past Sharma’s mark, but Sharma’s 154.2 kmph remains the most widely reported fastest ball of the 2026 season.
How Bowling Speed Is Measured in the IPL
IPL bowling speeds are measured by radar guns and ball-tracking systems positioned around the ground. The speed shown on television is the speed of the ball as it leaves the bowler’s hand, not the speed at which it reaches the batsman. Air resistance and pitch friction slow the ball down by several kilometres per hour during its flight, so the speed at the batsman’s end is always lower than the recorded figure.
Readings can vary slightly between systems, which is why different sources occasionally report the same delivery a fraction of a kilometre per hour apart. Broadcast graphics, the league’s official data feed and independent trackers sometimes disagree by 0.1 to 0.5 kmph. For that reason, small differences between bowlers at the top of the list should be read as approximate rather than exact.
Why Bowling Above 150 kmph Is So Difficult
Extreme pace is not produced by arm speed alone. Fast bowlers need momentum from the run-up, strong hip and shoulder separation, a stable front leg, rapid trunk rotation and efficient transfer of force through the bowling action. Small mechanical changes can cost several kilometres per hour, and repeated bowling above 150 kmph places enormous stress on the back, knees, ankles, hamstrings and shoulders.
That is why even the quickest bowlers cannot bowl every delivery at maximum speed. Most fast bowlers mix their fastest balls with slower balls, cutters and hard lengths, using raw pace as a surprise weapon rather than a default setting. The fastest bowler in IPL history list is therefore also a list of bowlers who managed to combine pace with control, fitness and durability over long spells.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who bowled the fastest ball in IPL history?
Shaun Tait bowled the fastest ball in IPL history at 157.7 kmph for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Daredevils in 2011. The record still stands through the completed 2026 season.
What is the fastest ball by an Indian bowler in the IPL?
Umran Malik holds the record for the fastest ball by an Indian bowler in the IPL at 157.0 kmph for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2022. Mayank Yadav is second among Indians at 156.7 kmph for Lucknow Super Giants in 2024.
What was the fastest ball in IPL 2025?
Lockie Ferguson bowled the fastest ball of IPL 2025 at 153.2 kmph for Punjab Kings against Lucknow Super Giants.
What was the fastest ball in IPL 2026?
Ashok Sharma bowled the fastest widely reported ball of IPL 2026 at 154.2 kmph for Gujarat Titans against Rajasthan Royals. One report later credited Mohammed Siraj with a 154.8 kmph delivery against Chennai Super Kings.
Has anyone bowled 160 kmph in the IPL?
No. No IPL delivery has been verified at 160 kmph. The fastest international delivery remains Shoaib Akhtar’s 161.3 kmph for Pakistan against England at the 2003 World Cup.
How is bowling speed measured in the IPL?
Speed is measured by radar guns and ball-tracking systems, and the figure shown is the speed of the ball as it leaves the bowler’s hand. The ball slows down during flight, so it reaches the batsman slower than the recorded speed.