Harry Brook comes out firing against KKR in noisy Kolkata

Entertainment-wise, keeping fans engaged, from the edge of their seats, as witnessed at Eden Gardens, was joyful.

Harry Brook comes out firing against KKR in noisy Kolkata

Harry Brook

It needed an onslaught against the fast bowlers for Harry Brook to bring up the first century in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League on Friday night. The Englishman, promoted to the top of the order, was authentic and aggressive as he authored a century that was brilliant in execution and did not look ugly.

For a team like Sunrisers Hyderabad, playing in noisy Kolkata against the Kolkata Knight Riders was a challenge. The Friday evening match is a precursor to the busy weekend. Given KKR’s good form in recent matches, for Harry to come out firing in this knock was symbolic of how no matter what the format is, when you play your natural game, runs can be scored.

There have been many centuries scored before in the IPL over the last 16 years, which began with Brendon McCullum in 2008. Bigger hitters like Chris Gayle, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and many more have also used the IPL stage to come out blazing. Comparing batters over the years and how aggressive they are would be wrong. After all, just a few days ago, “veteran” Shikhar Dhawan missed a century by just one run.
The significance of a ton is manifold. Statistically, it has great value.

Entertainment-wise, keeping fans engaged, from the edge of their seats, as witnessed at Eden Gardens, was joyful. This was a situation where the home team (KKR) bowlers were being hammered, and Umesh Yadav and Lockie Ferguson did suffer. It is clear, Harry finds it scoring against the fast bowlers easier.

KKR have been in the news because of one man’s heroics a week ago, Rinku Singh. He and KKR skipper Nitish Rana did wage a fight-back on Friday, but the total was beyond the reach of the home team on a humid night.

Harry Brook’s innings was a clean one in many ways, though there was one chance when he was dropped. These days, especially in the T20 format, batters are going to take their chances and go for the bowlers. One has seen some huge hits resulting in catches just inside the boundary.

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Harry Brook has shown that if one play one’s natural game as a batter, runs will come

Harry Brook century
Harry Brook

The Eden Gardens is historic. What was an imposing venue looks archaic in front of the modern cricket stadia now built in India or have been refurbished. Harry Brook showed that he was not necessarily going to slog but execute drives as well. On the off-side, his ability to find gaps caught the eye. There was also innovation when he found the empty region for boundaries behind the wicket on the leg side. He showed a willingness to rotate the strike, even though he grabbed the fast bowlers by the scruff of their collars. On this wicket, scoring against the spinners was not his game really. That job was left to skipper Markram.

Harry’s short interview at the innings breaks made it clear he is enjoying his batting and how important a stage the IPL is even for Englishmen. He is just 24 and became famous at the ICC under-19 World Cup a couple of years ago. A couple of his SRH teammates know him well since those days.

For people who play cricket in Yorkshire County, the grammar of batting has to be attractive. That is why Harry was able to produce shots that were not ugly. His drives had that flow, and he was in a position to execute them, not just throw the bat like a baseball player.

Most importantly, there was a premium he put on his wicket. He got to his 50 in a quick time. That did not mean losing concentration or trying to step into overdrive. Perhaps, the way Harry preserved himself right through the innings — 20 overs — to remain unbeaten on 100 with a strike rate of 181.82 off 55 balls is an example of how staying at the crease is important.

This edition of the IPL has seen many cameos, but the first century of the tournament will always be noted. One has seen many caustic comments from former cricketers now on air talking about some batters being selfish or not maintaining a high strike rate. The list of batters pilloried is long and includes even Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill.

Maybe, Harry Brook has shown that if you can play your natural game as a batter, runs will come. For a team like Sunrisers Hyderabad, which was not top of the charts for two weeks, this win is special. Cheers, Harry.

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