The second pink-ball Test between India and Australia at the Adelaide Oval was packed with drama, with a particular moment involving Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj sparking a social media frenzy.
During his final over on the second day, the speed gun astonishingly clocked one of Siraj’s deliveries at 181.6 km/h.
This figure quickly caught attention, as it appeared to surpass Shoaib Akhtar’s long-standing record of 161.3 km/h, set in 2003 against England.
Fans, ever quick to react, flooded social media with humorous reactions to Siraj’s supposed “achievement.”
Some joked that Siraj had unlocked a new level of speed, while others found humor in the situation.
"Siraj is going straight for Shoaib Akhtar’s records," one fan tweeted, while another quipped, “Mohammed Siraj or is it a Formula 1 car?”
However, the excitement was short-lived as broadcasters quickly clarified that the speed reading was due to a technical glitch. The corrected speed turned out to be far lower than the eye-popping figure.
Although the correction deflated the excitement, fans had already relished their moment of fun.
It is pertinent to mention that Australia levelled the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-1 with a dominant 10-wicket victory over India in the second Test on Sunday in Adelaide.
The third day began with India needing a solid partnership from Rishabh Pant and Nitish Rana to keep any hope of a comeback alive.
However, Mitchell Starc quickly extinguished those hopes by dismissing Pant in his very first over of the day.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had looked promising with some aggressive strokes, was dismissed before reaching his maiden Test fifty.
Cummins continued his dominance, swiftly cleaning up the tail as India failed to mount any resistance.
Led by Pat Cummins, and with Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc's lethal bowling, Australia restricted India to 175 runs in their second innings, setting a target of just 19 runs.
Openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney chased down the target in just 3.2 overs.
Travis Head was named Player of the Match for his brilliant 140 in the first innings.
The teams will face off in the third Test at the Gabba from December 14 to 18.
- Mohammed Siraj
