England held to a draw in first test in India
14 November 2016
Alastair Cook praised his team after they came within four wickets of winning the first Test in Rajkot.
England had a sniff when Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali struck in quick succession after tea to leave India 71 for four. Two more wickets set up a tense final 10 overs but Virat Kohli and Ravi Jadeja stood firm to salvage a draw.
Cook had earlier struck a wonderful century as England declared on 260 for three to set the hosts 310 in a minimum of 49 overs.
“I couldn’t have asked for any more from the 11 guys,” said Cook. “Shame we couldn’t quite push over the line – it was a brilliant effort from the lads.
“I can’t fault the effort, we can take a lot from it. There are a few tired bodies in there after 160 overs in the dirt in the first innings and a bit today, we put a lot in and will have to recover well.”
The England captain admitted the decision over when to declare was a tricky one but added he was never going to be generous.
“I wanted to make the game absolutely safe for us,” he said. “The amount of work we’d done in the game to always have our noses ahead I didn’t want to give India a sniff. We bowled 50-odd overs on day five. We weren’t hoping for a miracle but you need one of those innings where you get three wickets quickly.
“I have no regrets about the declaration. It’s easy to say you should set them 250 but in modern day cricket they would have had every chance chasing that.”
England’s second innings will be remembered for two players at opposite ends of their career.
Cook, in his 135th Test , 55 of them as captain, cracked a brilliant 130, his 30th Test ton – one more than Don Bradman - and fifth in India, more than any other visiting player.
Haseeb Hameed, just 19 and on debut, impressed in making 82, the highest score by a England teenager in a Test since Jack Crawford made 74 against South Africa in 1906.
“Incredible debut,” said Cook of his opening partner. “Incredible skill and temperament. I definitely think we’ve found one. There will be some tough moments along the way but he’s a player and everyone can be very proud of what he’s done, his family and friends. Let’s not heap too much pressure on him but he looks a fine player.
“I haven’t been in the greatest nick. I didn’t feel good in this game, it was probably a little bit later on. It’s amazing when you take your mind off your batting and start playing for the team situation – we wanted to push on just after drinks - that a bit more fluency came back and I played a bit better. The rhythm is still not quite there.”
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