Varun Chakravarthy was playing his first international game on his home patch and he was in his usual business of serving up spoilers. That was from England’s perspective.
There was no smog in Chennai and visibility was good. But Harry Brook couldn’t read a Varun googly and losing the off stump was his comeuppance.
The batter was deceived, schooled in fact. He could only offer a sheepish smile in response. The Chepauk pitch was good for batting, far better than what was laid out at Eden Gardens for the first T20I. There was no villainy from that piece of earth, carefully tended to. Brook couldn’t pick the wrong’un from the hand. He tried to manage it off the deck, but it was too late. It was almost an action reply of his dismissal in the first game.
Brook, 25, is considered to be the next big thing in English cricket. At least he is not an all-rounder and will never have to carry the excess baggage of the “next Botham” tag. He is officially the second-best (as per the ICC rankings) Test batter in the world, snapping at his compatriot Joe Root’s heels. A gentle reminder though, Brook hasn’t yet played a game of that variety in India. The way he has been going in the ongoing white-ball series, fair to say that he would struggle.
Today, Varun deceived him in flight, and then with the turn and bounce. Brook tried to get to the pitch of the ball by lunging forward. But he had already given up. Smog or no smog, Varun was too good. Brook departed for 13.
Talking about smog, the man from Yorkshire found it disturbing in Kolkata.
“He (Varun) is tough to pick. I think actually with the smog the other night (in Kolkata), it was a lot harder to pick as well. Hopefully, the air is a bit clearer here (Chennai) and we can see the ball a bit easier,” Brook told reporters ahead of the second T20I.
To be fair, there was an honourable mention as well: “Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler.”
Thoughts should be with Brook, for he has joined Delhi Capitals for Rs 6.25 crore for the 2025 IPL. For two-and-a-half months, from mid-March to late-May, he will have to deal with the skulduggery of the Delhi air, AQI-wise. Good luck with that.
P. S. For Graham Gooch’s England that toured India in 1993, the excuse in Calcutta was smog, while spicy prawns did the damage in Chennai. By the time they had reached Bombay for the third Test, the tourists had run out of excuses. For the record, India clean-swept the series 3-0.