Umran Malik made an unforgettable impact on debut in the Indian Premier League as the Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler, who is from Jammu and Kashmir, delivered the fastest ball by an Indian in this year's tournament. Right arm fast bowler Malik, 21, was clocked at 151.03 kph (93.8mph) during Sunday's match in Dubai. Even though his team ended up on the losing side, Malik's raw pace was one of the highlights of the game. In fact, during his four-over spell, the young quick had clocked the seventh fastest ball bowled in IPL 2021. Malik was not even supposed to be playing. He was a net bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad and had signed a short-term contract with the team as Covid-19 replacement for left-arm seamer T Natarajan. Even at the domestic level, there is not a lot known about the Jammu-based pacer as he has played just three white-ball matches so far. He took three wickets in a T20 match - against Railways - but also went for 98 in a 50-over game. Malik is the fourth cricketer from the troubled region to feature in the IPL after Parvez Rasool, Rasikh Salam and Abdul Samad. The young pacer's exploits, however, were not enough to help his team to victory. Hyderabad batsmen struggled to make any impact as they crawled to 115-8, which Kolkata overhauled in the final over of the match. Opening batsman Shubman Gill top-scored with 57 to keep his team's playoffs hopes alive. Malik finished with 0-27 from his four overs.
