Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc grabbed attention in the first ODI against India with something surprising on the very first ball. He bowled the opening delivery to Rohit Sharma, and the speed was shown as 176.5 km/h. This led to talks that Starc might have broken Shoaib Akhtar’s fastest delivery record. Let’s find out what really happened, did he actually bowl that fast or is there another reason behind this number?
How fast did Mitchell Starc bowl?
Mitchell Starc bowled the first ball of the opening ODI at a speed of 176.5 km/h, which has become a hot topic everywhere. In cricket history, the fastest delivery was bowled by Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar. He clocked 161.3 km/h during a match against England in the 2003 World Cup. But now, Starc’s ball has shown a speed of over 176 km/h, which has surprised many.
Mitchell Starc bowled at 176.5khp pic.twitter.com/cDpLjRsZ1r
— cheeks (@footprint_r) October 19, 2025
What is the truth?
Just so you know, the ball Mitchell Starc bowled was actually at a speed of 140.8 km/h. However, due to a technical error, it appeared as 176.5 km/h. The truth is, Starc did not bowl that fast. It was simply a mistake in the speed reading caused by a technical glitch.
Here are the playing XIs for both teams:
India – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh.
Australia – Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe (wicketkeeper), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, and Josh Hazlewood.
