Departing Cook denied farewell century

Saturday, 8 September 2018 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON (Reuters):Alastair Cook was denied a dream century in his farewell Test as the England opener was dismissed for 71 on the first day of the fifth Test against India at The Oval on Friday.

The 33-year-old, England’s record Test run scorer, made light of a poor summer with a gritty knock that appeared to be taking him towards a 33rd Test century.

But, after being dropped on 37, his luck ran out when he played on to Jasprit Bumrah.

Former skipper Cook was given a huge ovation as he trudged off. He could still get a chance to post another century in the second innings.

England were 198 for 7 at close after skipper Joe Root was dismissed for a duck three balls after Cook’s exit, and Jonny Bairstow followed without scoring soon after. The other casualty was Ben Stokes for 11. Moeen Ali played a stubborn innings, facing 170 balls for his 50 before being the first victim for Ishant Sharma. All rounder S.M. Curran also fell for Sharma for a duck. Bumrah and Jadeja also took two wickets each.