England vs India 2018: It Was a Fairytale Ending for Alastair Cook - Gautam Gambhir

The veteran India opener Gautam Gambhir showers words of praise on England counterpart Alastair Cook for the way he approached the game. Southpaw Gambhir termed it as the fairytale ending for outgoing Cook, who called curtains on his international career.

The 33-year-old Cook has been sensational on the fourth day of the Test match when he smashed his 33rd Test hundred for England. He was equally supported by Joe Root, who kept Indians chasing the ball for the most of the time on the penultimate day of the final Test.

Alastair Cook took the game away – Gautam Gambhir

The Indian opener Gambhir added that the English senior man deserves the kind of ovation given by the crowd while walking back to the dugout. He recollected the century Cook scored on his debut against India at Nagpur, and now, he finished with yet another century against India in his farewell Test at The Oval.

Talking of the game, Gambhir felt that it was a perfect day for England would ever ask. He went on to applaud the effort made by the skipper Root and Cook to push Indians on the back foot. Further, he praised the efforts of James Anderson and Stuart Broad as well.

“Absolute brilliant day for England. Special mention to Alastair Cook. I thought it was a fairytale ending. He started his career with a century and finishing with a hundred. I am sure, he deserves every bit of it. The partnership by Alastair Cook and Joe Root completely took the game away from Indians,” Gambhir said.

 

“The way James Anderson started with the ball was absolutely unbelievable. So was Stuart Broad as well. I think it is on Indians shoulders to save the Test match,” Gambhir added while speaking to Times of India.

India need to bat their skin out – Gautam Gambhir

The veteran opener wants KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane to stand up for the task and save the Test match for India. He asked the duo to relish the challenge and do it for India by taking the motivation from India’s history when they saved the test matches by batting throughout the day.

“To win is out of the equation now. Obviously, a lot will depend on KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane. Someone has to bat out of the skins to save this test match. It is possible. Teams have done it in the past. India itself done it in the past. I am sure KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane will relish the task,” Gambhir inferred.

However, it would be interesting to see whether Team Indian will survive the day five or not against England. Meanwhile, as Gautam Gambhir said, it was remarkable innings by Alastair Cook with his willow.