Harry Brook follows up maiden ton with fiery fifty: Stats
Harry Brook followed up his maiden Test hundred with a brisk fifty in the ongoing opening Test between England and Pakistan. The dasher, who scored a 116-ball 153 in the first innings, mustered 87 off 65 balls in his second outing. It must be noted that Brook is standing in just his second Test. Here we look at his stats.
Why does this story matter?
Ever since Brendon McCullum took over as England's Test head coach, the team has been displaying an aggressive brand of cricket, dubbed 'Bazball.' Brook has been an ambassador of the same as his batting has been all about fearlessness. 131.9 and 133.85 were his strike rates in the first and second innings of the contest, respectively. His overall First-Class strike rate is under 68.
Brook dazzles once again
Brook arrived to bat at number five in England's second innings with the scorecard reading 96/3. He went after the bowlers from the outset as the scoring rate remained healthy. His 87-run knock was studded with 11 fours and three sixes. Meanwhile, Brook added 96 runs alongside Joe Root for the fourth wicket. He eventually fell prey to Naseem Shah in the 36th over.
How he fared in the first innings?
Brook smashed an 80-ball ton in the first innings, the 3rd-fastest ton by an England batter in Tests. His innings was laced with 19 boundaries and five sixes. He was the fourth centurion for England on the day, joining the likes of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, and Ollie Pope. Brook powered England to 506/4 on the opening day, the highest Day 1 score.
Six boundaries in an over
Brook smashed six fours in the 68th over of England's first innings, bowled by Saud Shakeel. He became only the fifth bowler and first Englishmen to get the feat. Sandeep Patil, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Sanath Jayasuriya are the others on the elite list.
Brook scripts history with marvelous knock
Brook's match aggregate of 240 runs is the highest for an England batter on Pakistan soil. The swashbuckler smashed eight sixes in the game, most by a visiting batter in a Test in the Asian nation. Brook now boasts the highest aggregate strike rate (132.59) among batters with at least a match aggregate of 65 runs in Pakistan.
How has the match proceeded?
England folded for 657 on Day 2 of the contest. Pakistan responded well on a lifeless Rawalpindi track, mustering 579 runs, giving England a 78-run first-innings lead. While Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, and Babar Azam scored tons, Will Jacks scalped a six-fer. Brook and Root (73) helped the visitors declare at 264/7. Pakistan need 343 runs to win the contest in nearly four sessions.
