ENG vs IND 2018: Twitter Reacts As Ton-Up Alastair Cook And Joe Root Put England In Driver's Seat

Alastair Cook scored a fine century while his successor Joe Root inched closer towards a ton as England strengthened their grip in the ongoing fifth England vs India Test. At lunch on day four, the hosts were 243 for 2, with their lead extended to 283.

Cook and Root had the luxury to bat without much tension when the day began.  With the series already in pocket and a lead of 154 in their kitty, the duo started the proceedings with the bat. With the pitch looking good for batting, the two got into their grooves quickly. They scored nearly four runs per over in the initial phase.

On the other hand, the visitors had not much luck on their side. Chances were hard to come by while edges did not carry to the fielders. Amidst all these, Cook inched towards a fairytale retirement. The southpaw clipped a Jasprit Bumrah delivery  to the leg-side boundary to reach his fifty and receive a warm applause from the crowd.

Root was also batting in the same manner and reached his fifty after getting a reprieve on 46.  The four that Root hit to reach his fifty also brought the hundred-run stand for the third wicket while the lead crossed the 200-run mark. Cook soon surpassed Kumar Sangakkara’s run-tally in Tests to take the fifth spot in the list of highest run-scorers.

And then came the moment, the whole England was waiting for. Their beloved Cook reached his 33rd Test ton although in a  bizarre manner.  Cook had just played a Ravindra Jadeja delivery towards the point.However, Bumrah made a wild throw which resulted in 5 overthrows, taking Cook to a deserved century.

At lunch, Cook was unbeaten on 103 while Root was 7 short of century.

He's done it!

The Chef cooks up his 33rd Test century in his final innings! ?

What a way to sign off – congratulations Alastair Cook! ? #ENGvIND #CookRetires #ThankYouChef pic.twitter.com/OYxcGU1PnL

— ICC (@ICC) September 10, 2018

Here is how Twitter reacted to the session:

A century in your last innings. And an ovation that looked like it would never end. It was, as Joe Root said, "written in the stars". What a moment for the mighty Alastair Cook.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 10, 2018

What a system, Top Professionalism and of course GRACE. Cook with a memorable hundred in his last test and inning. Lots of runs with less hype ! Only the fifth man to score a century in his first and last Test matches. #EngvInd #CookRetires #AlastairCook

— Abdul Ghaffar (@GhaffarDawnNews) September 10, 2018

Thank you, Chef, for everything. Everything.#ThankYouChef#CookRetires#ENGvIND

— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) September 10, 2018

100 on his debut and his last innings. What a way to make a mark. Thank you #AlastairCook #CookRetires #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/RLAqWrj8WF

— Dimuth Karunarathna (@IamDimuth) September 10, 2018

All this talk of getting Cook to reconsider his retirement is rubbish, let the man retire on his own terms. He won't get a better chance to end his career on a high as he is in this Test. #ENGvIND #CookRetires

— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) September 10, 2018

Players scoring centuries in debut Test and final Test:

Reggie Duff
Bill Ponsford
Greg Chappell
Mohammad Azharuddin
Alastair Cook#EngvInd

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) September 10, 2018

Cook's got a hundred in his last ever Test innings. Still batting with Root nearing a hundred. Eng lead by 278 already. India's goose truly cooked. And there's still Buttler to serve it all up on a platter. #EngvInd

— Hasan Zaidi (@hyzaidi) September 10, 2018

Cook has now scored the most 2nd innings Test hundreds – 15.
Sangakkara 14.
Tendulkar 13.
Younis Khan 12.
Full list: https://t.co/WKpvKSJ1uG #ENGvIND

— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) September 10, 2018

Take a bow Alastair Cook,quite a farewell.. #EngvInd

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) September 10, 2018

Great to see one of best England batsmen of the modern era playing so well today & thrilling the Oval crowd.
Keep going, Joe. #EngvInd

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 10, 2018

232/2. That's usually the score that England is at seven or eight down this series. This is reminding me of a Test from the 2011 series now.#ENGvIND

— Suneer (@suneerchowdhary) September 10, 2018

Alistair Cook now the only 2nd Test batsmen in Test history, after South African Bruce Mitchell, to register two 50+ scores in each innings of his debut and final Test match.#EngvInd

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 10, 2018