Harry Brook. Pic Credits: X

IND vs ENG : Harry Brook Blames Kolkata Smog After England’s Defeat To India In First T20I Match

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Vice-captain Harry Brook blamed the Kolkata Smog for England’s seven-wicket defeat to India in the first T20I of the series. Harry Brook expects the condition to be better for the second T20I at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. England had a disappointing beginning to their tour of India, suffering a significant defeat in the first match of the series by seven wickets. India successfully chased the target of 133 runs, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

The evening smog in Kolkata made it doubly harder to pick mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy from his hand, feels England vice-captain Harry Brook, who is hoping that Chennai air will be comparatively clearer for sighting the white Kookaburra. Chakravarthy picked up the wickets of Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook during his game changing spell of 3 for 33 in India’s emphatic seven wicket victory over England in the first of the five-match T20I series.

India defeated England by 7 wickets in the 1st T20I

India defeated England by seven wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The visitors were asked to bat first but the Jos Buttler-led side failed to make an impact in the powerplay. Pacer Arshdeep Singh dismissed Phil Salt in the opening over and Ben Duckett in his next, putting the Three Lions on the back foot immediately.

Captain Buttler tried to rescue, scoring 68 runs off 44 deliveries but it wasn’t enough as England posted 132 runs in the first innings. India chased it down in 12.5 overs, courtesy of a brilliant knock from Abhishek Sharma.

Explaining the reason behind their poor outing with the bat, vice-captain Harry Brook stated that the players had difficulty reading the line and length due to the presence of a thick layer of smog. Notably, the youngster made only 17 runs off 14 deliveries while Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell struggled to get going in the middle order, resulting in England getting reduced to 109/8 at one stage.

Varun Chakravarthy was the star with the ball for the Men in Blue. He picked up three wickets and wreaked havoc in the middle order while Axar Patel played the perfect supporting cast, picking two. Meanwhile, Harry Brook mentioned that picking Varun’s deliveries were relatively tough to pick as smog bothered his vision. The cricketer also prayed that the conditions would be better for the second T20I in Chennai.

Harry Brook blames Kolkata smog after England’s defeat to India in first T20I

England vice-captain Harry Brook opined that he could not judge Varun Chakravarthy’s spin bowling in Kolkata due to the ‘smog’. Brook lost his stumps to the Indian spinner while batting on 17 runs in the first T20I at Eden Gardens on January 22.

India’s spinners troubled England a lot in the opening game of the five-match T20I series in Kolkata. Varun Chakravarthy took three wickets, while vice-captain Axar Patel bagged two wickets as India bowled England out for just 132.

Speaking to the media ahead of the second T20I in Chennai, Harry Brook hoped that the weather is better at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for the upcoming game.

“Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler, but with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick. Hopefully the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier,” Brook said.

It is pertinent to note that two years ago, Harry Brook scored his maiden IPL century while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens. Varun Chakravarthy was in the KKR playing XI for that game, and he ended with figures of 1/41 in four overs.

During the same chat, Harry Brook further opened up on the challenges of facing spin bowling, especially in the shortest format of the game.  Harry Brook commented:

“Facing spin in T20 cricket is probably the hardest thing in the game, especially because I always get out trying to absolutely smack it. Maybe I’ve got to rein in a little bit, but we’ll see.”

The second T20I of the India vs England series will be held on January 25. The conditions in Chennai generally favor the slower bowlers. It will be interesting to see how Harry Brook performs.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights

 


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