Tayla Vlaeminck may not have hit 145km/h with her bowling but her return from injury was a highlight

The radar gun may have been off, but even if the recorded 145km/h was a little over the top, there’s no doubt returning Aussie star Tayla Vlaeminck is seriously quick.

Tayla Vlaeminck was credited with a 145km/h rocket. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Australian pace sensation Tayla Vlaeminck sent the right sort of warning to India with a searing return to bowling that included the radar gun registering two deliveries at 145km/h during the washed-out T20 match against India.

Playing her first game in the mutli-format series, having been “terrorising” her teammates in the nets as she made her way back from injury, the 22-year-old tearaway was surprised with the Mitchell Starc-like number on the speed gun.

The mark would have been a new world record for women, by some margin, with the 122.9km/h speed she hit in her fourth over a proper reflection of the speed she was generating.

But Vlaeminck is also hopeful the four overs she got through is the catalyst for better ahead of Saturday’s second T20 in which Australia could seal the series with a win.

“I’ll take that, no error in that whatsoever,” she joked after the radar showed 145km/h on a couple of occasions.

“If I had looked up I would have had a little smile, but I think the broadcast pumped that up a little bit.”

145kph!?! 🤯🔥🤯 Tayla is not sure she's THAT swift... pic.twitter.com/wrb40pv7lx

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 7, 2021

Vlaeminck was making her first international appearance since April and did well to overcome a wayward opening delivery when she overstepped the mark by some distance.

She was also targeted by India’s opener Shafali Verma, who used Vlaeminck’s searing pace to slice the ball over the covers.

“I think I bowled halfway down the pitch with my first ball, so I had to try and get that back behind the line,” Vlaeminck said.

“Shafali was moving around everywhere – it would have been a pretty exciting over to watch.

“We know that’s how they like to play. Especially Verma at the top, she’s quite an aggressive batter and they score a lot of their runs with boundaries. We knew that. They got a few of them away from us early and there’s definitely heaps we can learn from that.”

Tayla Vlaeminck was rusty in her international return. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

India has heaped pressure on the world champion Australians in the series and, after dominating the Test match with the bat, took that momentum into the opening T20.

The rain at Metricon Stadium ended play after just 15 overs, with India 4/131 and on course for a big total.

The washout meant both sides were awarded a point, which leaves Australia 7-5 ahead with two T20s remaining to decide the multi-format series.

Victory for Australia in the second match would give the home side two points and an unassailable lead.

Injury-plagued Vlaeminck, who has found watching from the sidelines frustrating, found her rhythm towards the end of her spell and hopes she can play a part in deciding Australia’s fate.

“Sitting and watching isn’t my favourite thing to do,” she said.

“I love training, I love bowling and when I get the opportunity in the nets I’m always going to try and run in and bowl as hard as I can.

“It’s a really good challenge for our group. It’s obviously a very tight series – they’re a very good cricket side and we’ve seen how much they’ve improved even in the last 12 months since that World Cup. They’ve got aggressive batters who can take the game away from us, so we’re definitely going to have to have a very good look at their players and hopefully come out on Saturday ready to go.”

The series will be decided by the final two T20s on Saturday and Sunday night at the Gold Coast’s Metricon Stadium.