Alastair Cook fires "slow death" warning to Ben Stokes & Co. during Dharamsala Test

Former England National Cricket Team captain Alastair Cook has issued a major warning to the Ben Stokes-led team, saying that they are going to experience a slow death in the fifth and final Test of the series against the India National Cricket Team.

Cook’s warning has come after the poor performance of the Three Lions in the series concluding Test match, which is currently underway at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.

England entered the Dharamsala clash after losing three matches on the trot against India, which eventually resulted in the series defeat for the visitors. However, they have everything to play for in the Dharamsala Test as crucial ICC World Test Championship points are on the line.

Meanwhile, England won the toss and elected to bat first in the match. The decision was a good one considering the conditions, but the English batters weren’t able to utilize it and got bundled out for 218 in just 57.4 overs.

Zak Crawley top-scored for his side with 79 runs under his belt and England getting bowled for a low score came a huge disappointment for the former cricketers who slammed the visitors. The batters managed to deal with the Indian pacers but the spinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin – proved to be too dominant for them.

There is no way back into the game for England – Alastair Cook

After bundling out England for a low score, the top-order batting unit of Team India shined and they batted with a positive approach. Looking at India gaining control over the match, the England batting great Alastair Cook said that Rohit Sharma & Co. are closing all the paths for the visitors to make a comeback and the Ben Stokes-led side are going to suffer a slow death. Speaking to TNT Sports, Cook said:

“It went away from [England] yesterday and this is the icing on the cake for India. This is like ‘we are shutting every door and locking it’. There is no way back into the game for England – they are making sure that is the case,” said Cook.

“In Test cricket it’s a slow death and England are going to experience that over the next couple of days, you feel, unless something strange happens,” said Cook.

The top performers for the hosts in their first innings were captain Rohit Sharma and No.3 batsman Shubman Gill. Alastair Cook heaped massive praise on the batters and said:

“It’s been a brilliant partnership between these two – Gill in particular has been very aggressive this morning. Rohit has just steadied himself to a hundred, he realises you don’t get many opportunities to book yourself in for a Test hundred. It’s been tough work for the English bowlers.”

Notably, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill joined forces after the dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal and together they pushed England out of the game. They scored runs at a quick pace and punished the English bowlers from time to time. Rohit Sharma finished his innings with a score of 103 runs while Gill smashed 110 runs. Together the duo added 171 runs in 244 balls.