IPL 2023: Top 5 fastest deliveries from league stage

The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is heading towards its conclusion, with the final game just left as it got shifted to the reserve day due to endless rain. In the league round, some remarkable bowling performances were witnessed by fans and experts. The table-toppers, Gujarat Titans (GT), looked exceptional in the league stage, and in their success, their fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Alazari Joseph played a crucial role.

In this IPL edition, a top-tier group of pacers has taken part in the competition, and so far, some of them have also bowled the fastest deliveries. All these speed guns created records with their respective fastest balls but couldn’t shatter Australia's Shaun Tait’s record of the fastest IPL delivery (157.7 km/h) for the 2008 IPL champions Rajasthan Royals (RR), bowled in 2011.

Here are the fastest five deliveries bowled in IPL 2023

5. Anrich Nortje vs Gujarat Titans, match 7- 148.8 km/h

Anrich Nortje is known for destroying batters with his lethal pace. With his cutters and knuckle balls, he possesses the ability to hoax batters easily. Back in his IPL debut season in 2020, he bowled his fastest delivery of the league, against Rajasthan Royals’ batting stalwart Jos Buttler. 

This year, the Protea quick again made it to the list of bowlers who bowled the fastest deliveries in the competition. In match seven between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Nortje outfoxed Shubman Gill on the first delivery of the fifth over in the second innings with his delivery that clocked 148.8 km/h. 

Defending a score of 162 for DC, Nortje delivered a record-breaking ball for his team. However, despite his performance, Delhi couldn’t extract desired results as the visitors pull off the match comfortably by six wickets and 11 balls remaining. This year, the speedster featured in 10 IPL matches for Delhi, in which he hunted 10 batters at an economy of 9.10.