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Harry Brook blames smog for England's struggle against spinners in Kolkata
Chennai/IBNS: England cricketer Harry Brook has blamed smog for his team's struggle against the Indian spin bowlers in the first T20I in Kolkata where the tourists were outplayed by Suryakumar Yadav's men.
As England will face India in the second T20I in Chennai on Saturday, Brook revisited the tourists' struggle and hoped for a clearer vision in the south Indian city.
"I didn't face Bishnoi but Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler. He is tough to pick. I think actually with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick as well.
"Hopefully the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier," Brook, who was one of Chakravarthy's victims, said.
While Arshdeep Singh hurt England early, Varun Chakravarthy cleaned the English middle order picking three wickets including the one of captain Jos Buttler, who alone contributed 68 in the mere total of 132.
Axar Patel also chipped in to pick two wickets to ensure India maintain an upper hand in the inaugural T20 match that was closely followed in the backdrop of the hosts' recent setbacks.
With the bat, India made their chase look easy as young Abhishek Sharma hammered 79 from just 34 balls leading the hosts to a comprehensive seven-wicket win.
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