After Practically No Hits And Only Pauses, Harry Brook Has Finally Begun, This Time With a Bang!
Harry Brook hammered a blistering ton on Friday night [Source: AP]
12 fours. 3 lanky sixes. And there one could see in the end of a lofty effort, an exhausted but visibly satisfied young man.
With the mic in hand and an unavoidable smile, there was pleasantness, a great sight after exasperation.
But that’s not all; there was massive significance to that effort that is currently being talked about and perhaps deserves to be spoken for long.
Each stroke was essayed with an intent to stamp his authority on the game. Nothing was left to chance, there were no pauses, only intent one hit after another.
A belter of a pitch and Harry Brook with the long levers in play can often weave a commanding story.
This time around, the story fetched much joy to a side that was curiously hunting for a win.
How so?
A 55-ball-100 for a young man who desperately sought runs was one of the finest moments for the Sunrisers, whose performances thus far haven’t quite brought beaming sunshine to the camp.
At the time of his century, a first for him in the Indian Premier League, Harry Brook’s strike rate was 183.
Such was the level of hitting and sheer domination of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers.
An effort so big in terms of its outcome that the noted right hander made 100 of his team’s 228 runs.
And truth be told, if there was an occasion during this ongoing IPL edition where the Sunrisers didn’t seemingly put a foot wrong and appeared in control from the very start, then it was this Harry Brook-powered effort.
It’s one thing to score a century, but it requires quite an effort to remain unbeaten until the end.
This was Harry Brook with an unbeaten ton where he was the opener.
Experience- he’s got none. He’s barely just begun.
But with shots all around the park and some candidness in admission that some of the shorter boundaries and a fast outfield helped him along, Harry booked himself a place in the hearts of the Sunrisers’ fans.
It was a day where he could do no wrong.
But, did you note there was method to his madness?
A peach of an inning, perfectly paced against a top notch side in the IPL, the way Brook first accelerated against Umesh and Lockie and later, controlled his strokes particularly against Chakaravarthy, meant he had a plan in mind.
It showed that it wasn’t all mindless bashing out there.
But the stroke of the day, one that put out a giant smile on Brian Lara was that majestic six off a slower one from Lockie Ferguson.
It was as if Brook had read the mind of the fast bowling tearaway; that the right armer would take the pace off the ball.
And yet, given as fans we can’t quite have enough and always crave more from our cricketers, as if they weren’t mortals but magicians, a question troubles:
Would Sunrisers have been where, for instance, a Rajathan and Gujarat are, at the moment had Brooks delivered right from the start?
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But then, what also can’t- and mustn’t- be belittled is that finally after a string of low scores like that single digit outing early on and the twin knocks of 13, Harry Brooks has begun.
Ideally, there should be no looking back.
These are, as the tall Yorkshireman would like, still early days of the current edition.
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