Gerald Coetzee clocks the fastest ball of the IPL 2024, although he narrowly misses the all-time mark, shattering Mayank Yadav’s record for two days.

Gerald Coetzee, the fast bowler for the Mumbai Indians, has taken just three wickets in three IPL 2024 matches, including a wicketless performance against the Rajasthan Royals on Monday at the My11circle Stadium. Despite this, the South Africa star made history on Monday when he overtook Mayank Yadav to record the fastest delivery in IPL 2024.

Just two nights prior, in the Lucknow Dafabet encounter against Punjab Kings, bowler Mayank of the Lucknow Super Giants made his debut at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. He produced a delivery speed of 155.8 kmph that took PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan by surprise. The cricket community was in awe of the young Indian pacer as he produced a remarkable middle-over performance that included nine over-150 balls and three wickets at a cost of 27 runs.

But Coetzee smashed Mayank’s record on Monday when he hit a snorter at 157.4 kmph in the IPL Betway 2024 match against Rajasthan. At the Wankhede, it happened in the final ball of Rajasthan’s thrilling chase. Riyan Parag, who had just celebrated his half-century, got the top-edge to the shorter delivery, which sent the ball soaring over the wicketkeeper’s head for a boundary.

With that spectacular performance against the Royals, Coetzee not only topped the IPL 2024 charts but also made it into the all-time IPL list, only narrowly missing Shaun Tait’s 13-year record. With his 2011 IPL delivery of 157.71 kmph, the Australian icon continues to be at the top.

After his impressive performance in the 2023 World Cup in India, when he became the first bowler from South Africa to take 20 wickets in a single 50-over match, Coetzee was invited to participate in Mumbai’s mini-auction last December. His standout SA20 season from the previous year, in which he took 23 wickets, came before this. But with an economy rate of 11.43, the right-armer has only taken three wickets in three games for Mumbai.