England batter hits his first IPL century for Sunrisers Hyderabad
Harry Brook hit his maiden Indian Premier League century with 100 not out off 55 balls in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 23-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders.
The England batter, 24, smacked 12 fours and three sixes in a sublime knock to help Sunrisers post 228-4.
Kolkata could only reach 205-7 in reply despite Nitish Rana’s 75 from 41 balls, and Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 58 off 31.
Brook is the first batter to hit a ton in this year’s IPL and the fifth England batter in history to do so.
“My girlfriend is here but the rest of my family have just left,” said Brook, who had scored only 29 runs across his first three IPL games.
“I knew this would happen – as soon as they left I will get some runs. I’m sure they’ll all be very happy for me.”
Opening the batting, Yorkshire’s Brook took 32 balls to reach his half-century, needing only 23 further deliveries to bring up his second T20 ton.
This century is Brook’s latest exploit in a staggering year for the right-hander, who has established himself as one of the most thrilling batters in world cricket in all formats.
Brook recorded his first T20 century with an unbeaten 102 off 48 balls for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League in February 2022.
He was bought by Sunrisers for £1.35m in December’s auction for the 2023 IPL, a month after helping England win the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Brook has also enjoyed a stunning start to his Test career, hitting four centuries in his first six matches at an average of 80.90 with a remarkable strike rate of 98.77 runs per 100 balls.
Even with the expected return after a leg injury of Jonny Bairstow, who Brook replaced in the Test team, Brook is set to be a key part of England’s plans to try and regain the Ashes against Australia at home this summer.
He joins Kevin Pietersen, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Bairstow as the only England batters to hit IPL centuries. England limited-overs captain Buttler has struck five in the competition, while Test captain Stokes has two.
South Africa’s Aiden Markram struck 50 off 26 balls and Abhishek Sharma added 32 off 17 to help the Sunrisers post the highest total so far in this year’s competition.
Knight Riders opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell for a duck off the third ball of their chase, with the hosts then slipping to 20-3 at Eden Gardens.
Andre Russell fell from the first ball of the 11th over to leave his side 96-5, before captain Rana and Rinku kept Kolkata in the chase with a stand of 69 off 39 balls.
Rinku, who sensationally struck five sixes off the last five balls to lead Kolkata to victory over Gujarat Titans on Sunday, could not maintain his onslaught after Rana fell as the Sunrisers secured their second win. (BBC)
