England's new batting sensation Harry Brook brought a high-flying Kolkata Knight Riders down to earth with a sensational 55-ball century as Sunrisers Hyderabad cantered to its second victory by 23 runs in an IPL match in Kolkata on Saturday. (More Cricket News) | (Scorecard)
Young Brook finally managed to crack the IPL code in style 🤪with SRH managing a massive 228 for 4 in their stipulated 2💙0 overs on a batting beauty. Their bowlers despite some hammering from home skipper Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh were restricted to 205 for 7 in 20 overs.
Brook, who was roped in after his exploits in Pakistan, finally announced his arrival in stꦦyle, when he smashed four fours and two sixes inside first three overs to give SRH the best start of the♛ season.
Bought by SRH for a w🐼hopping Rs 13.25 crore, Brook had managed only 29 in the first three games, but found his rhythm with a 55-ball-100 as he smashed 12 fours and three sixes. This was the 16th edition's first century.
In reply, it was always going to be difficult for KKR to maintain a 🀅run rate of 11 plus per ove,r but skipper Rana (75 off 41 balls) did launch into SRH bowlers with half a dozen sixes and had 'Man of the Moment' Rinku Singh (58 not out off 31 balls) for company in their 69-run sta🅘ndoff only 6.2 overs. This was after KR were reduced to 96 for 5 within the first 10 overs.
Once T ﷽Natarajan got rid of Rana, it was left to Rinku to pull off yet another heist as 57 were needed off last three ove🍨rs.
But Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/29 in 4 over𒀰s)♏ gave 10 in the 18th over while Natarajan (1/54 in 4 overs) went for 16 in the penultimate over.
With Rinku on strike and 32 needed off last over, Umran Malik (1/36 in 2 overs) came back well to dismiss Shardul Thakur with the first delivery and effectively sealing the game as the southpaw was stranded at the other end for first two deliveries. Rinku face four balls, but Umran bowled fast and full to keep him under check with only eight runs being conceded.
BROOK 'BONDS' WITH SRH PHILOSOPHY
Earlier, having got a reprieve o𝔍n 45, when he was dropped by rookie leg-spinner Suyash Sharma an easy chance off hi💟s own bowling, Brook got to his 50 off 32 balls.
Brook al๊so overturned a caught-behind decision off Lockie Ferguson when on 61, as he hammered the Kiwi fiery pacer in the same over five fours, en route to the first century of the seaso⛦n, which came off a single off Umesh Yadav in the final over.
Opted to bowl, KKR fielding was al🅷๊so a big letdown as
Skipper Aiden Markram also played an i🍌mpactful inning in the middle when he raced to a 26-ball fifty as the duo stitched together 72 runs from 47 balls.
After Markram's departure, young left-handed batter Abhishek Sharma (32; 17b) gave fine suppor🐓t as the duo also added 72 runs (33b) to pile on KKR's misery.
Heinrich Klaasen then played a cameo of 16 not out in six balls as SRH dished out a superlative batting display after KKR opted to bowl🍸.
Barring Caribbeans, Sunil Narine (4-0-28-0) and Andre🎐 Russell (2.1-0-22-3) who pulled a muscle and co🍷uld not complete his overs, none of the KKR bowlers failed to impress.
The day fully belonged to the English batter, who carried his bat replicating his success in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he had s💯cored 264 runs for Lahore Qalandars in eight innings, which included a century, at a strike rate of 171.4 in 2022 edition.
Brook also has🎶 eye-popping numbers in Tests and has scored 809 runs with four centuries and three fifties in 10 innings.
KKR may have missed the trick by giving him some easy pace fodder to begin with as Brook was happy to take Yadav to the ꦦcleaners, while the fiery Ferguson was wayward, both conceding 14 runs in their opening overs.
From 43 for no loss in three overs, Sunil Narine manage𒈔d to drag them in a tidy fourth over that perfectly set it up for Andre Russell to infli﷽ct a double blow.
Bowl♊ing for the first time this season, the Jamaican dismissed Mayank Agarwal (9; 13b) straightway before pulling a muscle.
Russell however managed to finish the over and took the wicket of in-form Rahul Tripathiℱ in the last b🥀all to give KKR the vital opening.
But Brook and skipper Markram batted 🍃sensibly, especially against Narine and raced to quick fifties to ke💯ep their run rate near the 10-run mark.
The SRH skipper gav♚e Brook a fine support and negotiate🎉d the middle overs well in an entertaining 72-run partnership that came off just 47 balls.
