Sometimes, if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself. That is exactly what Harry Brook did during a recent cricket match. As the captain of the England men’s cricket team, he took control of the game in Pallekele. He scored his very first hundred in T20I and also became the first captain to smash a century in the T20 World Cup history.
By doing this, he helped his team beat Pakistan. Because of this win, England has now reached the semi-finals of the men’s T20 World Cup 2026. They did this with one whole game left to play in their group.
A Need for a Change
Before this match, things were not going perfectly for Harry Brook. This tournament is his very first time being the captain of the team. He started the tournament well by scoring 53 runs against Nepal. But after that game, he had a hard time. Brook was getting out against the spin bowlers. In four games in a row, he scored less than 20 runs.
Because of this, he decided he needed to change his plan. Usually, Brook is the fifth batter to bat for his team. In this game, he moved up two spots. He decided to be the third batter to bat. He did this so he could bat earlier in the game during the “powerplay.”
This change was actually the idea of the team coach, Brendon McCullum. Brook said that the coach came to him in the morning and suggested the new plan. Brook agreed, and he ended up walking onto the field very early. In fact, he had to face the second ball of the entire game.
Pakistan’s Turn to Bat
Before Brook batted, Pakistan had their turn to score runs. Sahibzada Farhan batted very well for Pakistan. He scored 63 runs. However, the rest of the Pakistan team found it very hard to score runs.
During the middle part of the game, England used their spin bowlers. These slow bowlers made it very tough for Pakistan to hit the ball away for big runs. Pakistan got stuck and could not score fast. Liam Dawson bowled wonderfully for England. He took three wickets while only letting Pakistan score 24 runs from his bowling quota.
A Bad Start for England
When it was England’s turn to bat and chase the score, they started very poorly. Shaheen Afridi strikes on the very first ball of the game to get rid of Phil Salt. Things got worse when Jos Buttler, who had been in a very bad form lately, went down too.
Afridi was bowling extremely fast and well. Later, Usman Tariq came into the game. Tariq also bowled very well and got two more players out in the middle of the game. England was in deep trouble. At one point, they only had 58 runs and had lost four players. Later, they had 103 runs and lost 5 players.
Harry Brook Saves the Game
Even though his teammates were getting out quickly, Harry Brook did not stop hitting. Because he moved up to number three, he was on the field almost the whole time. None of his teammates could even score 30 runs in this match. But Brook looked like he was playing a completely different game.
He hit the ball everywhere. At the end of the powerplay, Brook hit a huge shot over the edge of the field for six runs against Salman Mirza. Then, he scored 17 runs in just one single over against Mohammad Nawaz.
Brook also used his feet very well against the spin bowlers. He would step down the grass to get closer to the ball. He stepped forward and hit Shadab Khan straight back over his head for a big six. Right after that, he hit him again for four. Brook played safely against Tariq, who was bowling dangerously, but he attacked all the other bowlers.
Soon, he reached 100 runs. It took him only 50 balls to do it. To get to his century, he hit Afridi over the field for a six, and then hit him again for a four. It was an amazing display of batting. On the very next ball, Afridi bowled a perfect, fast ball right at Brook’s toes and finally got him out. As Brook walked off the grass, the whole crowd stood up and clapped. Even the bowler, Afridi, shook his hand to say well done.
This century was very special for Brook. He had a long, hard winter of traveling and playing cricket. He scored 135 runs in New Zealand. He played a great winning game in Australia. He also scored 136 runs in Sri Lanka without getting out. Now, he has scored a hundred in every type of international cricket game.
A Messy Finish
When Brook got out, England only needed 10 more runs to win the game. It should have been a very simple finish. However, England made it very hard. They lost two more players very quickly to Mohammad Nawaz.
Because of these mistakes, the game went all the way to the 20th and final over. The players sitting on the side were feeling nervous. Finally, Jofra Archer came to bat. He hit the ball hard through the field off the bowling of Salman Mirza. That hit gave England the runs they needed to win. Everyone on the England team took a deep breath of relief.
Winning Ugly
Even though England won and is going to the semi-finals for the fifth time in a row, they are not playing perfectly. They won their early games against smaller teams, but they did not look great. They also had a hard time beating Sri Lanka on Sunday.
In this game against Pakistan, England made a lot of simple mistakes while fielding. Jacob Bethell missed the ball twice, letting Pakistan score easy runs. Even Brook dropped a ball that he should have caught.
Their batting has also been weak, except for Brook. Jos Buttler is still not scoring runs. Still, the team knows that winning is the most important part of a tournament. They hope they will play better as the tournament goes on.
On the other side, Pakistan is now in a bad position. They have to play against Sri Lanka in their last group game, and they must win. Even if they win, they have to wait and see if other teams lose.
The post England vs Pakistan: Harry Brook Becomes First Captain To Score Hundred in T20 World Cup History appeared first on Sportzcraazy.
from Cricket News & Updates | Today Cricket Rankings | Latest Match Schedule https://ift.tt/RJYNqFO
via IFTTT
0 Comments