Harry Brook may have been correct in suggesting that there was smog in Kolkata and hence the batters faced problems in reading the Indian spinners. However, Brook had left himself to be trolled unless he’d turn up big time for England in the second T20I in Chennai, which he didn’t as Varun Chakaravarthy bamboozled him once again as the England vice-captain could muster only 13 runs on Saturday, January 25. Not just the fans, even the commentators and former cricketers were itching to have a go at Brook for his ‘smog’ remark.
“Once again, it’s Varun Chakaravarthy. You don’t need the smog, this has sneaked through and it has crashed into the stumps,” said Ravi Shastri on air as Chakaravarthy got rid of Brook immediately after the powerplay as the batter had his stumps shattered with a delivery that came in just enough to hit his off pole.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar too didn’t hold back as he reckoned, “Well you said it! The light is clearer here in Chennai. At Kolkata, there was some smog. No smog here. The batter had no idea where the ball was going. It hit the top of the stump. Harry Brook gone for 13. Varun Chakravarthy is looking at him, and saying look if there’s any smog there?”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan took to X (previously Twitter) to write, “Much Smog in Chennai ? Just asking … #INDvENG”
Brook on the eve of the Chennai clash hoped for a clearer air while admitting that playing spin is the hardest job in T20 cricket. “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. Facing spin in T20 cricket is probably the hardest thing in the game, especially because I always get out trying to absolutely smack it,” Brook had said on the Kolkata dismissal.
Riding on skipper Jos Buttler’s another superb knock and cameos from debutant Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse, England got to a decent score of 163 on a tricky Chepauk surface. However, Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 72 off 55 helped India prevail in a thriller as Indian batters too failed to understand the pace of the pitch. While Indian bowling attacked with spin, England stormed back into the contest with their pacers but now have lost two games in a row.
