SRH opener scores first ton of season in 23-run victory
KOLKATA: Harry Brook's reputation preceded his maiden IPL appearance. The England batter, after failing to make a mark in Sunrisers Hyderabad's first three games, justified the hype, coming good against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
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It was mainly because of the exploits of this young man, who is being touted as England's big future star, that SRH pulled off a 23-run victory after putting up this IPL edition's highest total so far by recording 228 for four on being asked to bat first. Skipper Nitish Rana's 75-run off 41 balls gave KKR some hope after they were reduced to 20 for three in the fourth over.
KKR needed 32 runs in the last over, but there wasn't another Rinku (Singh) moment as their last-match hero ended up hitting one six in the four balls he faced. However, KKR did end up with yet another 200 plus score - 205 for seven - to suffer their first home defeat this season.
Man of the match Brook got the first century of this IPL, remaining undefeated on 100 hitting 12 fours and three sixes off just 55 balls at a strike rate of 181.82. The 24-year-old, who played unorthodox shots to perfection, made his intentions clear right from the word go, hitting consecutive sixes off Umesh Yadav in his second over.
Brook paced his innings well, playing second fiddle when SRH skipper Aiden Markram opened hitting spinner Suyesh Sharma for two sixes and one four in the youngster's second over. The 47-ball 72-run third wicket stand between Brook and Markram actually took the match away from KKR.
1/10:IPL 2023: Harry Brook ton seals SRH win over KKR
ANI
2/10:Harry Brook
<p>Harry Brook lit up the IPL with an unbeaten century to set up a 23-run win for Sunrisers Hyderabad over Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata on Friday. </p>PTI
3/10:55-ball 100
<p>Brook hit 12 fours and three sixes in 55-ball 100 that took SRH to 228/4 after KKR skipper Nitish Rana won the toss and decided to field first. </p>AFP
4/10:Able support for Brook
<p>Brook was supported by SRH captain Aiden Markram (50) and Abhishek Sharma (32) who stitched two key half-century partnerships with the opener. </p>PTI
5/10:Andre Russell
<p>Andre Russell was the most effective KKR bowler and took 3/22 before he went off the field because of an injury concern at the start of his third over. </p>PTI
6/10:Varun Chakravarthy
<p>Varun Chakravarthy took the only other SRH wicket while Lockie Ferguson was the most expensive KKR bowler and leaked 37 runs in two overs. </p>AP
7/10:Rahmanullah Gurbaz
<p>KKR made the worst possible start after opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a duck in the first over of the chase. </p>PTI
8/10:Marco Jansen
<p>Marco Jansen removed Venkatesh Iyer (10) and Sunil Narine (0) off consecutive balls before Rana stabilised the innings with opener Narayan Jagadeesan (36). </p>IANS
9/10:Rana and Rinku
<p>Rana hit 41-ball 75 before falling to T Natarajan in a spirited batting display with Rinku Singh. </p>IANS
10/10:Rinku Singh
<p>Rinku Singh hit an unbeaten 31-ball 58 with four fours and four sixes. </p>IANSHowever, some shoddy fielding added to KKR's woes as things could have been different had not Suyesh dropped an easy caught-and-bowled chance off Brook when the batter was on 45. Abhishek Sharma, who came in for Washington Sundar, went on to score 32 off 17 balls after being dropped by Shadrul Thakur off Sharma for one only.
Brook, who was bought by SRH for Rs 13. 25 crore in the auction, took up the cudgel once Markram departed after trying to go for a huge shot off Varun Chakravarthy but failing to clear the deep mid-wicket boundary where Andre Russell took an easy catch. However, he set the tone of the innings with a quickfire 50 off 25 balls hitting two fours and five sixes.
The 2018 U-19 World Cup's leading run-scorer for England, Brook got four boundaries and one six off Lockie Ferguson when the New Zealand pacer returned for his second spell. Andre Russell, who had not bowled so far in this IPL, picked up two wickets coming in the fifth over of the innings having opener Mayank Agarwal caught by Chakravarthy at short third man and then Rahul Tripathi caught when the former Knight top-edged a short one for wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz to take an easy catch.
Russell, who walked off limping after bowling two overs, returned to have Sharma caught by Thakur in his third over. But the big allrounder could not continue further leaving the field with the help of support staff. He did return to bat, but could not deliver once again falling for just three.
