'They said the machine malfunctioned, I had to bowl (the fastest delivery) after a year again' - Shoaib Akhtar

They said the machine malfunctioned, I had to bowl
Reminiscing the day when he speared the fastest supernova, Shoaib Akhtar, remembered and claimed how he had to dart the fastest delivery twice because some people alleged the speed-gun to have malfunctioned on the first occasion. Akhtar contends that he had to bowl the fastest delivery again to prove his critics wrong.

The Rawalpindi Express thrived on pace and it seemed like he was born to cast the fastest bowl in his life. Shoaib became the trendsetter to break the 100 mph barrier and after him, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, and Mitchell Starc crossed the 160 kph mark. 

Shoaib Akhtar launched the fastest recorded delivery in the 2003 World Cup match at Newlands against England when he clocked 161.3 km/h and stunned the cricket world. The media was abuzz about it and were trying to find loopholes, not ready to accept the aberration. 

“Afterwards they said, the machine is not okay. I had to bowl again the next year (Baad Main Keh Rahay Thay Machine Theek Nahi Hai. Phir Dobara Kerna Para Tha Aglay Saal),” Akhtar wrote in a tweet.

BBG Sports recorded bowling speeds during the marquee tournament and Shoaib recorded high 150s consistently in the ODI against England before taking his arm way back to load up and blast the searing delivery that etched his name in the history books. 

Prior to the World Cup, Akhtar fired a 161.0 km/h ball against New Zealand's Craig McMillan in Lahore but it wasn't officially recognised by the ICC because the speed gun wasn't deemed accurate. Akhtar was a nightmare for the batsmen in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs, 15 T20Is. He shed 438 international wickets at a phenomenal strike rate of 25.02.