Lucknow: Harshal Patel carved his name into the history books with a remarkable individual milestone during their clash against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday.
The right-arm pacer became the fastest bowler in Indian Premier League history to reach 150 wickets in terms of balls bowled, surpassing legendary names in the process.
Patel achieved the feat by dismissing Aiden Markram in the 16th over of the innings with one of his trademark slower yorkers — a dipping delivery that deceived the South African completely and crashed into the stumps.
It was Patel’s first wicket of the night but one that placed him in elite company. The wicket came off the 2381st ball of his IPL career, breaking the previous record held by Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga, who had taken 2444 balls to reach the same landmark.
The updated list of fastest to 150 IPL wickets in terms of balls now reads: Harshal Patel (2381), Lasith Malinga (2444), Yuzvendra Chahal (2543), Dwayne Bravo (2656), and Jasprit Bumrah (2832). Harshal also became the second-fastest bowler to reach 150 wickets in terms of matches played, achieving it in 117 games — only behind Malinga who got there in 105.
Despite the record-breaking moment, it wasn’t the best night overall for Harshal or SunRisers Hyderabad.
The pacer ended with figures of 1 for 49 in his four overs as Lucknow Super Giants posted a daunting total of 205 for 7. The SRH bowlers struggled across the board, unable to contain LSG’s explosive overseas trio that has been their mainstay all season.
Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran all fired once again, continuing their excellent form.
Marsh and Markram registered confident half-centuries, both crossing the 60-run mark, while Pooran added a blistering 45. With this, the trio created a unique record of their own — becoming the first overseas trio in IPL history to each score 400 or more runs in a single season for the same team.
(IANS)
