England's favourite Harry makes India brood

CHENNAI: England's explosive batter Harry Brook had not even opened his account when he top-edged Jasprit Bumrah to Mohammed Siraj on Day Two in Leeds, Headingley on Saturday. Unfortunately for Bumrah and India, the pacer had overstepped and the batter got a new lease of life.

However, that was not the only reprieve for the World No. 2 Test batter as he was dropped twice — one each when he was on 46 and 82 respectively. He made the visitors pay with his 112-ball 99 to take the team closer to India's first innings total of 471. A typical Brook's innings at a strike rate of 88.39 meant the hosts replied strongly, posting 465 in their first essay. For the unversed, the 26-year-old Yorkshire lad has the highest strike rate in Test cricket among specialist batters at the moment.

Highly regarded for his destructive batting abilities irrespective of the format, the recently-appointed England white-ball captain has a kind of unusual relationship with India. Earlier this year, he was banned for two years from the Indian Premier League after pulling out of the competition for the second year running. Delhi Capitals was the franchise that signed him on both occasions with his latest paycheck during the 2025 mega auction being Rs 6.2 crore.

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