Harry Brook shuts down doubters in style, smashes first century of IPL 2023 during KKR vs SRH clash

Harry Brook smashed the first century of 2023 Indian Premier League on Friday night.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's star batter Harry Brook put out a solid show on Friday night as he smashed the first century of the 2023 Indian Premier League during the side's match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Brook reached his century in 55 balls, smashing 12 fours and three sixes en route to the knock. The right-handed batter had struggled to make a mark in the season thus far, as he had registered scores of 13, 3, and 13 in the side's first three matches.

Harry Brook(PTI)

Brook was promoted in the batting order on Friday after the side was invited to bat first by KKR skipper Nitish Rana; the England batter opened for SRH alongside Mayank Agarwal, and made instant impact as he hit three fours off the first over against Umesh Yadav. Even as the side lost quick wickets of Mayank (9) and Rahul Tripathi (9), Brook remained undeterred as he continued on his onslaught, eventually reaching his half-century in 32 deliveries during the 11th over of the game.

He forged a strong 82-run stand for the third wicket alongside Aiden Markram, who scored a valiant half-century in the game. Brook scored his maiden IPL century in the 19th over of the game, as SRH ended up putting a mammoth score of 228/4.

Brook remained unbeaten on 100.

It was an intense battle at the IPL 2023 auction for Brook; Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad engaged in a bidding war for the Englishman, with the latter eventually succeeding in securing his services for a whopping INR 13.25 crore.

However, Brook faced significant criticism after his failures in the opening three games of the season. The English batter scored 13 off 21 deliveries in his first match against Rajasthan Royals, and was dismissed on only 3 in the second game in Lucknow. After another failure, there were concerns over his place in the XI but the SRH team management played a masterstroke, sending him up to open the innings.