It wouldn’t be more perfect way to bid adieu to International Cricket as the former England Captain Alastair Cook did by scoring a Test Century in his very last Test match against India at the Oval in London on Monday.
With a 272 runs lead while having eight wickets in hand, England have already seized the driving seat in the final Test of five-match series against India but Alastair Cook even made it more memorable not by featuring in it for the last time but rather scoring a Test Century.
It is worth noting that England led by Joe Root have already clinched the Test series 3-1, and even if India manage to turn the fifth Test in their favour which though doesn’t seem happening likely, the result won’t affect the fate of the bilateral series.
It was Alastair Cook’s 33rd Test Century today, and interestingly in his debut Test back in March 2006 against India at Nagpur, the left-handed opening batsman also scored 60 runs in the first innings and then hit a Century in the second innings.
And now in his last Test, as he has already announced to be, Alastair Cook has made 71 runs before being bowled by Jasprit Bumrah in the first innings followed by unbeaten 100 runs in the second innings.
Batsmen with century in first and last Test of the career:
RA Duff
WH Ponsford
GS Chappell
M Azharuddin
Alastair Cook (today) #ThankYouChef— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) September 10, 2018
Having enjoyed a terrific Test career, Alastair Cook is ending his 12-year journey as being the highest scorer for England and the sixth highest overall with 12,254 runs (recorded prior to the ongoing Test).