Twitter Reactions: Alastair Cook hits his fourth double ton

His gritty innings comprised 30 boundaries and he played 338 deliveries to reach the landmark.

By Rituparna Das

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Alastair Cook
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Alastair Cook of England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Prolific England opener, Alastair Cook made his mark in the inaugural pink-ball test match for England against the West Indies at Edgbaston. The stylish southpaw hit a ton on the first day of the Test match, ably supported by his skipper, Joe Root. The second day only saw Cook consolidating his flawless innings and eventually, scoring his 4th double ton in Test cricket.

The first day/night Test match for the England team commenced on Thursday, with West Indies as the opposition. England skipper, Joe Root won the toss and chose to bat first. As is the norm, 32-year-old Cook opened the innings for his side and from the word ‘go’ looked extremely comfortable with the playing conditions. Having played a solid knock of 193 for Essex in the round of floodlit County Championship matches in June, Cook seemed to be quite unfazed by the much talked about ‘pink ball’.

Although fellow opener, Mark Stoneman fell cheaply for a paltry individual score of 8, Cook looked steady in the crease and worked to bind his innings together. It was Alzarri Joseph who had to face the brunt of Cook’s flawless technique as he was hit for 2 consecutive boundaries in the 4th over of the innings, the latter one being a particularly exquisite cover drive. Soon after Stoneman, it was Tom Westley’s turn to be dismissed for the same score in the 8th over.

But there was no stopping Cook. Although he joked afterwards about “yawning at 9 pm” because it was past his usual bedtime, the supremely talented English batsman played an array of beautiful shots and paced his innings just the right amount to leave the opposition hapless. Captain, Joe Root provided the left-hander with the much-needed support from the other end and played a remarkable inning of 136 runs, putting up a formidable partnership of 248 runs with him.

Cook brought up his 31st Test century on the last delivery of the 60th over, off the bowling of Roston Chase, proving his mettle and class yet again. While Root was bowled out by Kemar Roach for 136 runs at one end, he inched forward to record a personal score of 153* at the end of the first day and England put up a hefty total of 348/3.

The second day was no different for Cook as he made the much debated day/night format look like bread and butter to him. The crowd at Edgbaston looked equally enthused as they cheered on their former skipper in the floodlit stadium. He looked focused and determined as he took each step towards his 4th double ton. Cook finally hit a spectacular drive off Roach on the 2nd ball of the 113th over to bring up his well-deserved double century.

His gritty innings comprised 30 boundaries and he played 338 deliveries to reach the landmark. After having had to endure a lean run against the Proteas, this innings from Cook seemed pretty similar to the majestic roar of a lion, who’s returned to the turf and reclaimed it with authority.

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