Experienced English opener Alastair Cook has praised the Indian bowlers to do well on the opening day of the fifth and final Test of the series at The Oval (London).

Alastair Cook, who is playing his last international game, led the side for a good start as once the hosts were batting on 133/1. But once, Cook was dismissed on 71 runs, England batting suffered a huge collapse and they scored 198/7 at the stumps on day one. Apart from Cook, Moeen Ali was the only other English batsman to bat well on the day as he scored 50 runs.

Talking about the superb bowling performances by the Indian bowlers, Cook told Sky Sports, “I thought the way the Indians bowled was fantastic. I think I played one cut and one pull shot all day. A lot of credit to them.”

Also read: Eng vs Ind (Fifth Test): Day One – Cheteshwar Pujara briefly described the day

Though the Indian pacer Mohammed Shami finished the day in wicket-less (22-7-43-0), he bowled in a good channel that made uncomfortable even the set English batsmen. Cook hugely praised Shami, especially for his brilliant spell to Moeen Ali before tea.

Cooks said about that spell, “It was an unbelievable spell. I was facing Ravindra Jadeja at the other end and quite happy! We found it hard to know which way it was going. One thing Mo did pretty well, yes he was playing and missing, but he wasn’t curtain-railing as much, he was playing the line.

“There’s sometimes a skill in playing and missing, I know it’s a bit of a funny thing, but he wasn’t moving his hands as much. Sometimes in Test cricket you’ve got to just suck it up and you need a bit of luck.”

Also read: Moeen Ali Credits Indian Bowling Attack For The Comeback

Cook credited the Indian bowlers to deliver well in all the day while he still believes that it is the better batting surface among this Test series.

Cook said, “It has been testing batting conditions for both sides with the new ball, but it didn’t nip as much early on here. There also wasn’t as much zip off the wicket, it was a slightly slower wicket. There was a bit of swing as the ball got a little bit older. The ball hasn’t strung straight away throughout the series.

“I can’t [think of conditions as testing as this series]. Whether it’s the ball or the amount of grass which is left on the wickets these days, you don’t often get a white wicket anymore. It’s certainly made it an interesting contest between bat and ball.”

Also read: Ravindra Jadeja Praises The Effort Of The Indian Bowling Line-up 

Before scoring this half-century in this game, Cook struggled in the whole Test series as he failed to reach even the 30-run mark for once at least.

Talking about his disappointing batting form, Cook said, “I think because of the emotion I didn’t want to not get a score. There’s nothing worse than going out and not contributing after all the fuss about the week. I was probably just as nervous as I was anyway.

“Everyone says, ‘just enjoy it, it doesn’t matter how many runs you get’, but actually that’s never the case. There’s never a game of cricket ever like that. It was nice to get off the mark; that was the most important thing first. I think it was seven or eight balls and then got going.”

At the start of the innings, Cook received the guard of honour from the Indian cricket team which he mentioned very kind and the nice gesture.

Cook said, “It all happened so quickly. It’s really weird, I always think playing in the Ashes at Lord’s, walking through the long room, it’s such an amazing noise, but you just do not appreciate it. The guard of honour is such a nice gesture, but you’re just focussed on batting.

“It was very kind of Virat and the Indians but you’re just trying to concentrate on that first ball. The reception I got was fantastic, but it kind of went on a bit and made me even more determined not to get out.”

Though Cook has felt disappointed with the last session performances from his team, he is confident to bounce back on the day two.

Cook said, “You don’t know what a good score is until both sides have batted. It was disappointing to lose six in that last session, and it was slow going at Tea. You just don’t know. Even at the end the ball was still doing enough. We’ve got a very good bowling attack, and three wickets left to get. I do think I’ll be batting again.”