IPL 2023, KKR vs SRH | Who said what ft. Harry Brook, Nitish Rana
SRH’s million-dollar baby Harry Brook silenced the critics by hitting an unbeaten 55-ball 100 against KKR at Eden Gardens on Friday. His extraordinary knock helped SRH pile up 228/4, but Nitish Rana’s explosive 41-ball 75, coupled with Rinku Singh’s 31-ball 58 not out ensured KKR to close on 205/7.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) registered back-to-back victories in IPL 2023, with the most recent coming against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 23 runs, that too in their own backyard. Harry Brook made headlines by smashing a spectacular hundred – the first of the edition – to take SRH to a gigantic total. In reply, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh’s valiant efforts kept KKR in the game, but the target was always too much to achieve before they eventually got past 200 to protect their NRR.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rana admitted that their bowlers leaked too many runs, which eventually cost the result. At the same time, he lauded Rinku to carry on the momentum in the competition.
I feel that the way we bowled wasn't in line with the plan. However, the wicket may be, a score of close to 230 is too high. We could have planned and bowled better. We know that what Rinku did the other day won't happen every day, but the way he batted and I batted made me happy overall.
Aiden Markram, who scored 50 off just 26 balls, credited the bowlers to hold their nerves in crunch situations to help their side eventually get a positive result.
Hats off to the bowler, who showed a bit of courage and character. Fortunate to get off to a good start. We bat quite deep and that's the impact it had. [on Brook] We all know Harry's talent, he hits good cricket shots at PP. Bhuvi is Mr. Reliable. It was a tough wicket to be a bowler.
Brook, the man of the moment, was delighted to pull off a spectacular show at Eden Gardens. However, during the innings break, what he commented left everyone in awe.
 I’ve had a bit of trouble with spin, but I wanted to use the powerplay to my advantage. So middle overs wanted to rotate strikes and let the other boys do the hitting. It is a belter of a pitch, we need to bowl our lengths rightly and take wickets. We still got a job to do. My girlfriend is here but the rest of my family have just left, I’m sure they’ll all be very happy for me.
While receiving the Player of the Match award, Brook remarked he knew the pitch was one of the best batting tracks across the world, and therefore, it helped him to get going.
It was a special night, it was tense but it's good to be on the winning side. [on batting at the top of the order]: A lot of people say it's the best place to bat at. I am happy to do what team wants me to do. This knock is definitely up there[in the list of my best performances].