Sri Lanka U-19s pacer Matheesha Pathirana shocks India with 175 km/hr delivery; watch clip

Defending champions India started their ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka in Bloemfontein on Sunday with a solid win. But what caught everyone's attention was when Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana stunned fans and his opponents alike with his delivery that hit the 175 km/hr mark in the first innings.

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It all happened on the last delivery of the fourth over when Matheesha Pathirana bowled a short delivery way down the leg-side. to India's opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal. The southpaw left the ball and the umpire declared it as a wide ball.

The speedometer showed 175kmph which was a major surprise and rightly so. While there has been no official confirmation from the ICC regarding an error in the speedometer, a 17-year old pacer bowling at such a pace is completely unheard of.

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Matheesha Pathirana stuns with 175kmph ball

Besides this delivery, Matheesha Pathirana had previously caught everyone's eye for his bowling action, which has an uncanny resemblance to veteran Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga's action. The slingy nature of Matheesha Pathirana’s action is also making him a fan favourite in the cricket world.

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As far as the match is concerned, India defeated Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 90 runs. The Lankans, in their quest to chase 298, were bundled out for 207 in 45.2 overs. Pacer Akash Singh was the pick of their bowlers with bowling figures of 9-1-29-2.  Siddhesh Veer and Ravi Bishnoi also dismissed two batsmen each.

Earlier, after Sri Lanka captain Nipun Dananjaya won the toss and elected to bowl, India scored a formidable 297-4 in 50 overs on the back of individual half-centuries from Jaiswal (59), captain Priyam Garg (56) and wicket-keeper batsman Dhruv Jurel (52*).

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IMAGE COURTESY: CRICKET WORLD CUP TWITTER