Harry Brook capitalised on a lucky reprieve to register his maiden fourth-innings century on Sunday, August 3. The world’s top-ranked Test batter counter-attacked with a blistering 91-ball ton, setting the platform for England’s massive chase of 374 against India in the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
This was Brook’s 10th century in Test cricket, achieved in just his 50th innings. The milestone also propelled him to second place for the most Test hundreds since 2022, behind only Joe Root, who leads with 15. Brook received a vital lifeline when he was on 19, as India missed a golden opportunity to dismiss him in the morning session.
After early breakthroughs by Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, which removed Zak Crawley and stand-in skipper Ollie Pope, India had a chance to reduce England to 137 for 4. However, Siraj, positioned at deep fine leg, caught Brook’s mistimed pull off the first ball of the 35th over but stepped on the boundary rope while completing the catch, turning it into a six.
The missed chance proved to be costly for India. Encouraged by the lifeline, Brook quickly changed the flow of the game. He began a confident counter-attack, scoring 18 runs in the same over, and continued to play positively throughout the session, eventually turning his good fortune into a valuable century.
Brook-Root Partnership Frustrates India As England Gains Control In Final Test
Harry Brook found solid support in Joe Root, the World No. 2 Test batter and England’s top run-scorer, as the pair steadily dented India’s hopes of drawing level in the series. The duo combined caution with aggression, applying constant pressure and wearing down the Indian bowling attack by the end of the second session.
Brook’s fine innings finally came to an end on 111 from 90 balls, just before the Tea break. Akash Deep induced a mistimed shot, which was safely caught by Siraj at mid-off. However, by that point, Brook had already made a major impact—bringing the target below 100 and putting on a strong 195-run partnership with Root for the fourth wicket.
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