Updated On: 29 April, 2022 08:12 AM IST | Mumbai | Harit Joshi
Former India pacer Irfan Pathan, who has groomed Umran Malik during his coaching stint with J&K, says speedster is heading in right direction after maiden IPL fifer

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Umran Malik celebrates dismissing Gujarat Titans’ Shubman Gill on Wednesday. Pic/BCCI; IPL
A placard at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday read, ‘I have come to watch Umran Malik.’ Such anticipation reserved for an Indian fast bowler is rare. But why not? He is, after all, the fastest bowler in India. The Jammu-based Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer, 22, has already been a box office hit this IPL. And after his sensational five-wicket haul albeit in a losing cause, Umran’s stocks have simply skyrocketed. He received a standing ovation from the Wankhede crowd with chants of “Umran Umran.”
Out of the five batsmen Umran sent back, four were clean bowled. Introduced in the attack for the eighth over, Umran first dismissed Shubman Gill (22) who was trying to give himself room to play a shot. He then bounced out GT captain Hardik Pandya. A 153kmph thunderbolt sent back Wriddhiman Saha (68) while David Miller (17) and Abhinav Manohar (0) were beaten by raw pace too. Despite Gujarat Titans winning a thriller on the last ball over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Umran deservedly bagged the man-of-the-match award for his 5-25.