England and Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Harry Brook admitted to being “glad” after silencing his critics with a stunning century against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.

Brook, who was SRH’s most expensive buy at the auction, did not get off to a great start in IPL 2023. He made only 29 runs in his first three outings at a strike rate of 74. But on Friday (April 14, 2023), he looked close to his best as he smashed KKR’s bowlers to all parts of the ground to slam the first hundred of this IPL season.

At the post-match presentation, Brook brought up the criticism he had received on social media, quipping that he was happy to have shut them up with his match-winning knock.

“I think I was putting pressure on myself a little bit after the first few games,” said Brook. “If you go on social media, people are calling you rubbish and you start to doubt yourself slightly. I went out with an I-don’t-care mentality tonight and thankfully, it came off.

“There’s [sic] a lot of Indian fans out there who would probably say well done tonight but they were slagging me off a few days ago. Glad that I could shut them up, to be honest.”

Brook coming into form is an excellent sign for SRH, who have now won two games on the trot. He seems to have taken to his new role of opening the batting. Against KKR, he was particularly severe against pace on Friday and if he can continue in that vein, it would help SRH dominate games from the outset.

SRH’s next fixture sees them take on Mumbai Indians at home on April 18. Post that, they will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings in Chennai on April 21.