England sensation Harry Brook lit up the Indian Premier League with an unbeaten century to set up a 23-run victory for the Sunrisers Hyderabad over the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday evening.
Brook hit 12 fours and three sixes in 55-ball ton that took Hyderabad to 4-228 after Kolkata skipper Nitish Rana won the toss and decided to field first. He smacked 66 runs from 26 deliveries facing pace, patiently rotating the strike against spinners.
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The young opener was supported by powerful hitting by Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram (50) and Abhishek Sharma (32), who stitched two key half-century partnerships with Brook.
“It was a special night,” Player of the Match Brook said.
“I think I was putting pressure on myself after the first few games. People on social media start to call you ‘rubbish’.
“They were slagging me off a few days ago. Glad I could shut them up, to be honest. I just went into the ‘don’t care’ mode and played.
“A lot of people say the top of the order is the best place to bat. And this knock is definitely up there for me.”
Brook becomes the first cricketer in history to score a century in the IPL and Pakistan Super League.
West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell was the most effective Kolkata bowler and took 3-22 before he went off the field because of an injury concern at the start of his third over.
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy took the only other Hyderabad wicket while New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson was the most expensive Kolkata bowler, leaking 37 runs in two overs.
Kolkata made the worst possible start after Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell to India veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a duck in the first over of the chase.
South African Marco Jansen removed Venkatesh Iyer (10) and Sunil Narine (0) off consecutive balls before Rana stabilised the innings with opener Narayan Jagadeesan (36).
Rana hit 41-ball 75 before falling to T Natarajan in a spirited batting display with new Kolkata hero Rinku Singh.
Singh, who blasted five sixes off the final five balls to help Kolkata stun champions Gujarat Titans in an IPL thriller on Sunday, hit an unbeaten 31-ball 58 with four fours and four sixes.
Hyderabad pacers Kumar, Jansen, Natarajan and Umran Malik shared five wickets, while spinner Mayank Markande finished with 2-27.
– with AFP
