Cook hits epic century in final Test innings as England punish India

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The stage was primed, the crowd was expectant, the script was written – and the former England captain did not fluff his lines.

The legendary England opener along with fellow centurion Joe Root propelled England to 423/8 declared, setting India a mountainous 464 for victory, before England’s bowlers made inroads during the final session of the day, as India stumbled to 58/3.

Just after midday, Cook got a thick inside edge off Mohammad Shami to surpass Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara to become the fifth highest run-scorer in Test match history and the highest-scoring left-hander. He had 12,401 Test runs, with only Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacque Kallis and Rahul Dravid having plundered more. But that wasn’t the milestone he yearned for.

At 96 not out and one hit away from three figures, Cook cut the first ball of the 70th over from Ravindra Jadeja to Jasprit Bumrah at point for an easy single, but the fast bowler launched the ball towards the bowler’s end, sending it flying to the straight midwicket boundary.

Five overthrows had gifted Cook his 33rd Test hundred and his seventh against India, before the whole crowd stood to applaud their hero for several minutes as Cook soaked up the electric atmosphere at The Oval.

The sheer joy and relief etched on the batsman’s face was enough to tug on the heartstrings of even the most ardent of Indian supporters. After all, this was the final act of defiance from one of Test cricket’s finest and most respected exponents.

Cook and Root had batted positively on a good day for batting. By lunch, England had built a 283-run lead, with two senior batsmen in fine touch. Root hasn’t made headlines with the willow this series and has been outplayed by his counterpart, Virat Kohli, but the England skipper was back to his fluent best today.

Root hit his 14th Test hundred when he stole a single in the off-side against Jadeja. The scenes weren’t as emotional this time around, but it was a timely boost for the skipper – there were 11 fifties between his 13th and 14th Test hundred.

The memorable stand between skipper and former skipper ended when Root fell for 125, caught in the deep off the bowling of Hanuma Vihari, before Cook (147) nicked off the very next ball. He exited with handshakes from every Indian player and made his way to the pavilion to thunderous applause.

With England building a sizeable lead, their lower order batted freely. Shami (2/110) broke Jonny Bairstow’s defences and Jos Buttler chipped one to Shami off the bowling of Jadeja, as England stretched their lead to 400 on the edge of tea.

After the interval, Ben Stokes exhibited his full repertoire of strokes, making a flamboyant 37 before Jadeja (3/179) got him caught at deep midwicket to make it 397/7. Sam Curran made 21 before Vihari (3/37) got his third, while Adil Rashid made a 14-ball 20 before the declaration came.

The brilliant James Anderson soon found his rhythm, with Shakhar Dhawan caught on the crease for a plumb lbw before also trapping Cheteshwar Pujara.

Kohli, who has carried the hopes of a nation during some exceptional innings this summer, then nicked off first ball to Broad, which cued more England elation. India, meanwhile, didn’t know what had hit them. It was left to KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane, who have both struggled during the series, to lift them out of the mire.

Both were still standing at the close of play, with Rahul leading the way with a dominant 51-ball unbeaten 48, but India have a mighty job on their hands if they are to prevent England winning the series 4-1 on day five.

Day four saw England’s experienced campaigners fire; Anderson's equalling of Glenn McGrath's record for the most Test-match scalps as a fast bowler almost escaped the radar. The day belonged to one man, who deserved this climatic end to a tremendous international career.