No respite from Cook

Resuming on 182,with their team 232 ahead with seven wickets in hand,most batsmen would come out,see out a few overs,get past 200 and proceed to bat like they are seeing the proverbial football. Not Alastair Cook,however. The left-handed English opener chose instead to play like he always does,and played in the manner least preferable to the opposition.

India would have wanted Cook to come out and reward himself for his labours with a flurry of strokes after all,there was still a lot of batting to come. What they got was a Cook who hit just one boundary in his first 50 runs on Day Three. Even that wasnt a shot played in anger it was an edge,cushioned with a soft bottom hand,that sped to the third man fence. Cook almost seemed to mock the Indians for the extravagant,away-from-the-body strokes that led to their downfall on Day One. He stuck to his strengths,tucking singles off his legs,steering the ball square on the off side,unfurling the drive only occasionally.

He continued in that same vein even in the second session. Till tea,he hit only three fours in the days play. Apart from that,54 singles,eight doubles and a three made up the remainder of his 85 runs in that period. Despite all that running,Cook looked fresh as a daisy . No wonder hes Englands official ball-shiner on the field. No chance of sweaty palms.