IPL 2018: Fastest bowlers on show

Pace and aggression are two things that come to mind when you think of the ideal fast bowler. Who doesn't enjoy a good spell of fast bowling, with one ball zipping past the ears of the batsman and the next one making him fend the ball off his toes.

There have been a number of world class fast bowlers who've represented various franchises in the IPL over the years, Bret Lee, Shoaib Akhtar and Dale Steyn, to name a few. This year too, there are quite a few quicks on show who will be an absolute delight to watch. Here are 5 bowlers you should look out for if you enjoy watching good fast bowling spells.

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#5 Mark Wood

Mark Wood is an English fast bowler who bowls consistently around 90mph. He will be playing for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018. He has taken 8 wickets in 4 T20I matches for England, at an extraordinary bowling average of 17. He will be looking to make an impact and pick up wickets for the Chennai team this year. He is excellent in the death overs and can be very hard to get away. Wood has an excellent slower ball in his arsenal which he will hope to deploy to good effect in the IPL this year.

Wood has a good, rhythmic bowling action and has been in splendid form for England in the ongoing series against New Zealand. Mark has grown leaps and bounds and is currently a regular in the England cricket team in all three formats of the game. He will be playing his maiden IPL and will look to be positive and give his best for CSK.

Watch out for Mark Wood!

#4 Billy Stanlake

This lanky, 6'8" tall pacer from Queensland, Australia will be representing the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2018. In the Trans-Tasman T20 Tri-Series, he clocked a record speed of 151.57 kmph against New Zealand. The prospect of facing Billy can give sleepless nights to even the best of batsmen. He bowls consistently in the late 140s and can be a very tricky customer to deal with, given his height.

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has called him the next big thing in Australian cricket and is of the opinion that Billy has the potential to be one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. Billy has had issues with his back in the past and might have to manage his workload going into the long international season ahead. The Sunrisers Hyderabad have always primarily invested in a good bowling attack and Billy would want to repay the faith the team has in him.

Expect a couple of nasty bouncers from Billy!

#3 Kagiso Rabada

Rabada burst into the scene after taking 6 wickets in the semifinals of the U19 World Cup in 2014. This fiery young fast bowler was soon included in the national Test and ODI squads and the rest, as they say, is history. He is currently one amongst the most feared bowlers in the world. He was retained with the RTM card by the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL players auction this year and will hope to repay their faith.

Rabada bowls at and around 150kmph and surprises batsmen with his pace and bounce. He gets under the skin of the batsmen and doesn't let them get away easily. He has a plethora of variations in his quiver, which could very be useful in this format of the game. Rabada didn't do particularly well in IPL 2017. 6 wickets from 6 games at a bowling average of 31.3 is quite poor, given his stature. Rabada will be desperate to do well and prove himself in IPL 2018.

Keep an eye out for Rabada!

#2 Pat Cummins

At 153.56 kmph, Pat Cummins bowled the fastest ball of IPL 2017. Playing for the Delhi Daredevils, he took 15 wickets at an impressive bowling average of 24.86. The Mumbai Indians went all out and secured his contract for Rs. 5.4 crores in the IPL 2018 players auction. He will be looking to justify his price tag and have a good outing with the defending champions this season. A bowling economy of 7.84 in T20s overall, is more than just impressive.

Cummins is very aggressive and often has plenty to say to the batsman. His fiery give-it-my-all attitude will come in handy for the Mumbai Indians as they look to defend the title this year. He is in good form coming into the tournament after taking 13 wickets in three test matches for Australia, on their tour of South Africa. Pat will be looking to hit the ground running in IPL 2018!

#1 Mitchell Johnson

Mitchell Johnson will be playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018. He is an experienced bowler in the IPL after having represented two other franchises in the past. Johnson played for the defending champions, Mumbai Indians in IPL 2017. He was entrusted with the last over of the match in the finals and defended 11 runs to help Mumbai clinch their third IPL title. His fastest ball ever has been recorded at 156.8 kmph. Though he has passed his prime, he remains a force to reckon with and is not easy to get away.

Johnson is an in-your-face kind of bowler who makes the batsmen work for their runs. All his experience of having played in different T20 leagues around the world will be worth its weight in gold for the Kolkata team this year. With Mitchell Starc ruled out, Johnson, when he returns, will get a lot more game time and will be spearheading the Knight Riders' bowling attack in IPL 2018!