A new speedster is here – Ashok Sharma. Remember the name. The Gujarat Titans pacer breached the 150 kmph mark twice in the IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday
A new speedster is here – Ashok Sharma. Remember the name. The Gujarat Titans pacer breached the 150 kmph mark twice in the IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. First, he bowled a 150.7 kmph delivery on the fourth ball of the 16th over to Donovan Ferreira. Then, on the final delivery of the over, Ashok unleashed a 154.2 kmph screamer to Dhruv Jurel. Ashok currently has the fastest and third-fastest deliveries of IPL 2026. Lucknow Super Giants’ Anrich Nortje (150.9 kmph) has the second-fastest delivery.
154kpmh from Ashok Sharma ⚡⚡ @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/DE2VMZU9n4
— Cricket Everywhere✍🏻 (@Subhamk79241601) April 4, 2026
Ashok sharma 🥵 pic.twitter.com/tSQHs49Q9Y
— . (@kadaipaneer_) April 4, 2026
Talking about the match, Dhruv Jurel beautifully blended aggression with discretion in his 42-ball 75 to guide Rajasthan Royals to a challenging 210 for 6 against Gujarat Titans after the opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi laid the platform in an IPL match here on Saturday. In the RR innings, Jaiswal looked to be getting back into the groove with a 55 off 36 balls after ‘Boy Wonder’ Sooryavanshi smashed an 18-ball 31 in an opening stand of 70 in just 6.2 overs.
Jurel seemed settled in his new role at No. 3 and showed that there is room for conventional shots while still striking at a rate of over 150. The pick-up pull off Ashok Sharma after completing his fifty was a delight-a testament to his strong core and excellent hand-eye coordination. He hit five sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
For Gujarat Titans, Ashok Sharma (1/37 in 4 overs), in only his second IPL game, emerged as the ‘next big pace hope’ after clocking 154.2 clicks and consistently bowling at speeds north of 145 kmph. However, BCCI coaches would need to be cautious, as there are lessons to be learned from the stories of Mayank Yadav and Umran Malik.
Jurel’s knock was a throwback to the early days of the IPL, when one batter would hold the innings together before throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition. A six off Rashid Khan over deep mid-wicket after dancing down the track was the highlight of his innings.
With Shubman Gill missing from the playing XI due to muscle spasms, Royals skipper Riyan Parag rightly opted to bat, and the explosive opening pair did not disappoint. The Sooryavanshi-Jaiswal combination may still be relatively new, having come together last year, but a statistic from Cricviz underlines their dominance.
Out of 113 pairs in IPL history with 500-plus runs together, Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi stand out with a scoring rate of 12.04 runs per over and are third on the list behind Travis Head-Abhishek Sharma (12.57) and Sunil Narine-Phil Salt (12.46).
With the quartet of Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna and Ashok extracting extra bounce and pace off the surface, shot-making during the Powerplay became relatively easy, as batters were able to use the pace of the ball.
