Playing his final Test, Cook had scored a fifty – to add the many during his illustrious career – to have England 123/1 at Tea before the India bowlers ensured they finished in the ascendancy at stumps. Cook credited the Indian bowlers for giving little away even when England were in a strong position.
“I thought the way the Indians bowled was fantastic,” Cook told Sky Sports. “I think I played one cut and one pull shot all day. A lot of credit to them.”
“It was an unbelievable spell,” he said. “I was facing Jadeja at the other end and quite happy! We found it hard to know which way it was going. One thing Mo did pretty well, yes he was playing and missing, but he wasn’t curtain-railing as much, he was playing the line.”
“There’s sometimes a skill in playing and missing, I know it’s a bit of a funny thing, but he wasn’t moving his hands as much. Sometimes in Test cricket you’ve got to just suck it up and you need a bit of luck,” he said.
“I can’t [think of conditions as testing as this series]. Whether it’s the ball or the amount of grass which is left on the wickets these days, you don’t often get a white wicket anymore. It’s certainly made it an interesting contest between bat and ball.”
