A ton in front of your home crowd to kickstart a marquee five match Test series in the English summer is a dream most batters can only fantasize about. Harry Brook had the rare chance to make it come true in Leeds on Sunday but his temptation to match Rishabh Pant's six-hitting feat ended in tears.
India continued to toil on Day 3 at Headingley as Harry Brook took over the reins after Ollie Pope’s departure to keep taking England closer to the visitors first innings total of 471. The Yorkshireman did not hesitate in playing his shots as he raced to a half-century in just 65 balls, and even survived a new ball spell from Jasprit Bumrah albeit with the aid of a drop to head towards a century. A double at the start of the 88th over took the home batter to 99, and five deliveries from Krishna presented the perfect chance to achieve a rare milestone. However, his temptation to make a statement – akin to Rishabh Pant when he had crossed into triple figures with a maximum in the first innings – led to tragedy.
Krishna decided to surprise Brook with a sharp bumper on the third delivery after hammering away on the good and fuller lengths with the fresh Dukes and the youngster obliged by taking on the invitation. However, he failed to get it out of the meat of the bat as the red cherry dipped straight down Shardul Thakur’s throat at backward square leg who barely had to move.
Brook immediately swung his head back in disappointment while cameras panned to skipper Ben Stokes, who had disappointment writ large on his face as he stood on the balcony waiting to applaud the ton. Twitterati had a similar reaction.
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