IPL 2020: Have been working on increasing my pace, says Anrich Nortje

Anrich Nortje of Delhi Capitals bowling during IPL match Rajasthan Royals

After bowling the fastest delivery in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL), Delhi Capitals' pacer Anrich Nortje said that he has been working on increasing his pace for two years now.

His remark came as Delhi Capitals defeated Rajasthan Royals by 13 runs on Wednesday at the Dubai International Stadium. During the course of the match, Nortje bowled a delivery at the speed of 156.22 kmph and as a result, he registered the fastest ball in the history of IPL.
In his very first over, Nortje cranked up the speeds, but Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler played two scoops off him to register boundaries. However, the Proteas pacer came back and he clean bowled Buttler on the final delivery of his first over.

"Yeah, the battle against Buttler was interesting, I know he plays the scoop shots, but when he played the first one, it took me by surprise. I did not think he will do it again, but he played the shot once again on the next delivery. He played really well, but I stuck to my strength, obviously we saw how the wicket was playing so I was trying to use the wicket and get some variation," Nortje told Shikhar Dhawan in a video posted on iplt20.com.

"I did not know that I bowled the fastest delivery in IPL, I have been working on getting my pace right up there. It has been a couple of years that I have been working on it, in the end, it's just about hitting the right length," he added.

Rajasthan Royals failed to chase down 162 as the side was restricted to 148/8. For Delhi Capitals, Tushar Deshpande and Anrich Nortje scalped two wickets each. With this win, Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals went to the top of the points table.
Batting first, Delhi Capitals had posted a total of 161/7 in the allotted twenty overs as Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer played knocks of 57 and 53 respectively.

For Rajasthan Royals, Jofra Archer returned with the best bowling figures as he finished with 3-19 in his quota of four overs. Archer got the wickets of Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, and Marcus Stoinis.
Delhi Capitals will next take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on October 17 while Rajasthan Royals will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on the same day.