CricViz Analyst Srinivas Vijaykumar looks at the intricacies of Sharmarh Brooks’ maiden century on a day Windies all but sealed victory in Lucknow

Sharmarh Brooks started his Test career a few months back against India on a very special note, receiving his Test cap from Sir Viv Richards. What followed later wasn’t very special with scores of 11, 2, 0 in his first three innings. Fast forward three months and Brooks has a debut century in his third Test, playing a pivotal role in taking Windies to a commanding position with a 90-run lead after the first innings.

What made Brooks’ knock standout was the tempo with a clear mix of attack and defence. He started quickly with nine runs in his first five balls, including a boundary ofd his first ball facing Rashid Khan. The stylish right-hander would get some runs on the board, and consolidate later – a pattern that was apparent throughout his innings.

The man from Barbados had a near perfect split with 55 runs through the off-side and 56 runs through the leg-side. A closer look at the wagon wheel shows how he favoured the fine leg region behind square on the leg-side and through covers on the off-side, adding up to 42% of his total runs. Another aspect of the exceptional knock was the clear plan and ease with which he tackled the spinners. When he played attacking shots, 76% of his runs came in front of square. When looking to rotate the strike, 70% of his came behind square. A brilliant mix of attacking intent and striking rotating to keep the score ticking on a pitch that wasn’t easy to bat on. Brooks is generally one who relies on timing rather than power – this innings was a perfect example.

69 of his total 111 runs came against Rashid Khan, but the key aspect was the rate at which he scored those runs against the leg-spinner. Taking Brooks' attacking shots against the Afghanistan captain, Brooks scored 69 runs in 108 balls at 3.83 runs per over. On the other hand he scored 42 runs in 106 balls at 2.37 runs per over against the other three bowlers put together.

Brooks’ knock was pivotal in getting Windies a comfortable 90-run lead. With the spinners striking in quick succession and reducing Afghanistan from 53-0 to 109-7 in the second innings, victory doesn’t look very far away on Day 3. At the end of Day 1, WinViz gave Windies 61% chance of winning the Test, and now they sit at a near perfect 95%.