England's Harry Brook admitted the difficulty he faced against spin in the first T20I against India but also blamed the "smog" in Kolkata for England's poor batting effort in their seven-wicket defeat. The team is now hoping for a turnaround as they prepare for the second game of the series in Chennai.
Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel, India's spinners, took advantage of England's troubles on turning tracks, combining for scores of 12-1-67-5 at Eden Gardens. Brook, bowled by Chakaravarthy with bat and pad, conceded that the conditions made the task more difficult.
“Chakaravarthy 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 told reporters.
Despite his success, the Yorkshireman admitted he still has work to do in mastering spin in T20s.
“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.
I think I do have a method. It’s just trying to do it consistently and more often. I come in in the middle order, so the first few balls I face are usually off-spin. If I get out early, it’s usually against a spinner, so maybe my stats aren’t as good against spin, but there’s always going to be criticism in some parts,” Brook admitted.
Brook recalled his unbeaten century for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2023, where he took on Chakaravarthy successfully.
“I was going to watch it on the way in (to Friday’s practice session), but my phone wouldn’t work, so I’ll have a look a little bit later. We were sitting in the bar the other night, and Baz (Brendon McCullum) texted me from across the other side of the room. He just said, ‘Congrats, you’re the vice-captain,’ and I just put, ‘Beautiful, thanks,” the batter.
Harry Brook stated on Friday that England must maintain continual pressure on India if they are to recover from their seven-wicket defeat in Kolkata and even the series.
“We're pretty chilled. India is a very good side, so we knew what they were going to hit us with, and yeah, they played an exceptional game. We just need to keep pushing the same messaging Baz (Brendon McCullum) has been saying throughout. We need to look to put pressure on their bowlers and try to take wickets throughout their innings. You've always got to go a little bit above and beyond to exceed,” he added.
Brook hoped to take ideas from skipper Jos Buttler's superb fifty at Eden Gardens.
“Yeah, he is obviously very experienced in India. He's done exceptionally well in the IPL and whenever he's played for England here. Oh, it’s really nice to watch him go out there and go about his business. It was a pleasure to watch him from the other end for a little bit,” Brook said.
The second match will be played in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday, January 25.
(PTI inputs)