Harry Brook ton sinks KKR as SRH register 23-run win

Tags: Indian T20 League 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 19th Match at Kolkata, Apr 14, 2023, Kolkata XI, Hyderabad

Published on: Apr 15, 2023

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

Harry Brook smashed an unbeaten 100 off 55 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 23 runs in match number 19 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and opted to bowl first in the game. However, Brook played an exceptional knock, hitting 12 fours and three sixes. With his effort on Friday, April 14, he became the first player to score a hundred in the IPL 2023 edition.

Andre Russell dismissed Mayank Agarwal (9) and Rahul Tripathi (9) cheaply. However, the KKR bowlers could not dislodge Brook. They had a tough chance in the 10th over when Brook hit one back hard at Suyash Sharma, but the bowler could not latch on to the catch.

The England batter and SRH captain Aiden Markram, who smashed 50 off 26 balls, added 72 runs for the third wicket in quick time. Markram struck two fours and as many as five sixes before falling to Varun Chakravarthy. Brook carried on and slammed Lockie Ferguson for a six and four fours in one of his overs. Abhishek Sharma contributed 32 off 17, while Brook reached his hundred in the last over with a single of Umesh Yadav.

Chasing 229, KKR were three down for 20 in no time. Bhuvneshwar Kumar sent back Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck, while Marco Jansen accounted for Venkatesh Iyer (10) and Sunil Narine (0) off consecutive deliveries. Narayan Jagadeesan (36 off 21) and Nitish Rana (75 off 41) added 62 runs for the fourth wicket. Rana took on Umran Malik and launched him for two sixes and four fours in the sixth over of the innings.

After Jagadeesan fell to Mayank Markande, Andre Russell (3) also perished to the leg-spinner. Rinku Singh (58 not out off 31) then scored another wonderful hundred to take KKR past the 200-run mark. Kolkata finished on 205/7 in their 20 overs.

Speaking after winning the Player of the Match, Brook said, “Was a special night. Thankfully we got over the line as well. Got a little tense in the middle. A lot of people say that opening the batting in T20 is the best time to bat. I'm happy to bat anywhere. I've had a lot of success batting at five. Made my name there. My four Test hundreds will have to be over this one.

“The crowd was phenomenal tonight. I enjoyed it. I was putting pressure on myself a little bit. You go on social media and people are calling you rubbish. There's a lot of Indian fans out there who'll say well done tonight. But they were slagging me off a few days ago. Glad I could shut them up to be honest,” he added.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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