Harry Brook, shedding his recent run of low scores, roared back into form with a resounding unbeaten century off 55 balls. His masterful innings was a blend of authoritative strokes against pace and well-calculated strike rotation against spin, propelling Sunrisers Hyderabad to a colossal total of 228 for 4 – the highest team score witnessed in IPL 2023 thus far.

The response from Kolkata Knight Riders was plagued by adversity as they found themselves struggling at 96 for 5 in the 11th over, staring at the need for a miraculous turnaround for the third consecutive match. Nitish Rana’s valiant 41-ball 75 injected hope into their pursuit. With 58 runs required from the final three overs, Rinku Singh and Shardul Thakur, the architects of the previous two matches’ miracles, were tasked with orchestrating yet another comeback. However, this time, their efforts fell short.

Prior to this encounter, Harry Brook had amassed a mere 29 runs across three innings at a strike rate of 74.35. Yet, his revival seemed inevitable, and Friday proved to be his stage. The innings commenced in style as he dispatched Umesh Yadav’s opening delivery through the covers for four. The next two balls produced more boundaries, executed with a blend of pulls and scoops.

Against Lockie Ferguson, Brook demonstrated audacity by exposing his stumps and effectively dispatching a slow full toss to the cover boundary. This strategy bore fruit once more in Umesh’s following over, resulting in consecutive sixes. Under Brook’s impetus, Sunrisers stormed to 43 without loss in a mere three overs.

Notably, Andre Russell, who had refrained from bowling earlier in the season, made an immediate impact with his very first delivery. Despite Brook’s dominance, Mayank Agarwal endured a challenging phase, with Russell ending his struggles by inducing a catch to short third man for a subdued 9 off 13 balls. Russell then dismissed Rahul Tripathi on the final ball of the same over, top-edging a pull shot.

Reintroducing seam in the 15th over, Knight Riders turned to Lockie Ferguson. Yet, Brook was undeterred, unleashing an onslaught of boundaries. Four fours and a six ensued, amounting to a substantial 23-run over. Assuming the mantle from Aiden Markram, Abhishek Sharma continued the assault against spin, amassing a brisk 32 off 16 deliveries. Notably, he managed to breach Sunil Narine’s defenses, striking a four and a six – the only boundaries conceded by Narine in his four-over spell.

Abhishek’s surge was curtailed by a pace delivery, leading to his dismissal. Meanwhile, Brook’s relentless pursuit of boundaries culminated in him reaching 95 off 52 balls as the final over approached. Despite his fatigue, he summoned the energy for a couple of twos and a single, eventually crossing the century mark with his blade raised high.