Harry Brook Not on Board with Gautam Gambhir’s Decision to Name Him POTS: 'I Didn’t Score as Many Runs as Rooty'

Brook mentioned Root’s contribution in his interview and was clear in stating that he should be awarded the Player of the series trophy. Brook too had a good outing, and it wasn’t a shocker for him to be named the man of the series but certainly a little out of space. The English middle order batter scored two hundreds and a 99 and was certainly one of the threats for the India side right through the six weeks.

How did Harry Brook fare in his first Test outing against India?

Harry Brook had missed his previous opportunity to play Test cricket against India in the early parts of 2024 as he had to attend a family emergency that involved his grandmother. However, this time around he was facing the Indian bowling attack as the second-best Test batter in the world as Brook had risen up the ranks in the last 12 months quite significantly.

Brook could have had a nightmarish start against India but was let off due to an overstepping error by Jasprit Bumrah who had accounted for Brook when he was on 0 in the first Test at Leeds. Brook went on to make the Indians pay as he got to 99 before hitting one straight down the fielder’s throat. He, in his second innings though, got out for 0, becoming the first batter to be dismissed for a 99 and a duck in the same match.

Brook had a good outing in the second Test even though England lost as he made an impressive 158 in a long 300+ run partnership with Jamie Smith. Brook had a mediocre third Test as he was seen getting out in a similar manner in both his innings with his stumps rattled once by Bumrah and the other time by Akash Deep. The English batter had another forgetful outing in Manchester where except him, everyone else got big runs pushing England past the 600-run barrier.

He bounced back in the final Test match as he scored two 50+ scores (53 and 111) and was a critical part of the run chase that was dominated by England for a large part. Incidentally, it was Brook’s wicket that opened the gate for India as both he and Root had deflated the Indian bowlers up till then. India somehow made a miraculous return through that window and turned the Test match on its head to eventually draw the series at 2-2.

Brook had a very oscillating six weeks. He looked immortal at times on the crease, and there were occasions that produced some average cricket from him. However, in all, it was a series where he had some major impact and did make India run for their money on several occasions.