KOLKATA: Harry Brook’s unbeaten century and quickfire fifty from captain Aiden Markram propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to 228/4 against Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match here at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
For SRH, Brook slammed the first century of IPL 2023 and Markram scored 50 off 26 while youngster Abhishek Sharma played a quickfire knock of 32 in 17 deliveries. For KKR, Andre Russell bagged three while Varun Chakaravarthy claimed one wicket.
Put to bat first, SRH got off to a fiery start as their openers Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook slammed Kolkata bowlers all around the ground and gathered 40 plus runs under 4 overs.
However, Andre Russell struck with his first ball of IPL 2023 and removed Agarwal for 9 in the 5th over of the game. New batter Rahul Tripathi did not last long on the crease as he was removed by Russell in the 5th over after scoring just 9 runs.
Captain Aiden Markram then came out and handled the charge with Brook. In the 11th over of the game, Brook brought up his first IPL fifty in 32 balls. Markram then hammered Suyash Sharma for 16 runs with the help of two maximums and one four.
It did not take long for Markram to slam a stunning half-century in 25 balls with a six over the deep mid-wicket. On the fifth ball of the 13th over, Markram fell prey to Varun Chakaravarthy after playing a knock of 50 off 26.
Brook hammered Lockie Ferguson for 23 runs with the help of four boundaries and one maximum. Abhishek Sharma along with Brook slammed Suyash Sharma for three boundaries gathering 15 runs in the 16th over of the game.
Abhishek and Brook in red-hot form slammed Kolkata bowlers all around the ground and took their team’s total beyond 200 runs in the 19th over of the innings.
Russell then delivered a stunning ball to break the 72-run partnership, dismissing Abhishek for 32 off 17 balls. Russell limped off the pitch after picking up the wicket of Abhishek. His struggle was clearly evident in the initial overs but now he was unable to carry on.
Heinrich Klaasen then came out to bat the craese. Aggressive batter Brook slammed this season’s first century in 55 balls. In the last over Klaasen and Brook gathered 13 runs to guide their team’s total to 228/4 in 20 overs.
Brief score: Sunrisers Hyderabad 228/4 (Harry Brook 100*, Aiden Markram 50; Andre Russell 3-22) vs Kolkata Knight Riders. (ANI)