IPL 2023: Harry Brook's ton ensures significant SRH victory over KKR, netizens amazed

Former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) put an out-of-the-box performance to outplay former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 23 runs in Match 19 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Friday. SRH put on a superb total of 228/4, thanks to opener Harry Brook's magnificent unbeaten century, which became a tedious task for KKR to chase down, while netizens were delighted by the show Brook put up.

Winning the toss, KKR opted to bowl, as SRH lost a couple of wickets for 57 by the fifth over of the PowerPlay (PP) following a compelling start. In the meantime, Brook (100*) and skipper Aiden Markram (50) put on an effective 72-run partnership for the third wicket to set the platform up for the visitors for a top total.

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While Markram struck his fourth IPL half-century at this time, he was dismissed by leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy in the 13th. However, SRH refused to stop and kept accelerating, with Brook and Abhishek Sharma (32) adding 72 more for the fourth wicket before the latter fell to pacer Andre Russell in the 19th.

Nevertheless, Brook managed to slam his maiden IPL ton, as SRH posted a match-winning total of 228/4. For KKR, Russell bagged three wickets, while mystery spinner Sunil Narine was considerably economical. Before the hosts' chase began, off-spinner Washington Sundar replaced Brook as the Impact Player (IP) for SRH, while Venkatesh Iyer came in for leg-spinner Suyash Sharma.

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KKR was off to a hyper start, losing three for 20 by the fourth over of the PP. Opener N Jagadeesan (36) and skipper Nitish Rana (75) added 62 for the fourth wicket, keeping their side within the chase and refusing to sink in so early. Leg-sinner Mayank Markande broke the partnership in the ninth, with the side down to 96/5 by the 11th.

Rana joined forces with Rinku Singh (58*) and put on 69 to keep KKR's chase going, with the skipper bringing up his 16th IPL 50 before falling to pacer T Natarajan in the 17th. Although Rinku and Shardul Thakur (12) tried hard in the closing stages, especially the former scoring his half-century, the hope of repeating his heroics against defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) was a dream too wild, as SRH eventually got the job done by 30 runs. Markande and pacer Marco Jansen scalped a couple each for the visitors, whereas senior seamer Bhuvneshawar Kumar was economical.