ALASTAIR COOK has never felt more tired after a match, misses his new daughter and admits he was outshone by a 19-year-old novice.
Yet, far from feeling fed up, England’s captain exuded a warm glow of satisfaction and genuine excitement at what the next five weeks could bring.
Cook, 31, was thrilled by his side’s performance in the First Test as they confounded the doom merchants who predicted a 5-0 whitewash.
And the man himself scored 130 — a 30th Test century that elevates him among the game’s elite — despite being well short of his best.
England dominated the opening skirmish against the world’s No 1-ranked team and Indian skipper Virat Kohli was reduced to time-wasting to ensure England did not win.
In the end, England could only capture six of the ten wickets required to force victory but they bossed the game over five days.
On this evidence, a series win is not impossible.
Cook said: “I’m absolute shattered. It’s bloody hard work, I can tell you, and I’ve not been sleeping that well.
“I’ve sacrificed a bit to come out here.
“Leaving home for two months after seeing our daughter Isobel for just 18 hours wasn’t easy. So I wanted to try to make it worthwhile and score a few runs.
“Haseeb Hameed is an unbelievable player.
“He was pushing me close to retirement when we walked off on Saturday!
“A 19-year-old not only out-batted me but scored quicker and made it look easier than me. So that was a bit of a down-to-earth moment! He’s a find, isn’t he?”
After being routed in a single session by Bangladesh’s spinners two weeks ago, many feared England would be swept aside in this series.
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But four of the top six batsmen made centuries and Hameed announced his arrival as a batsman of true potential.
Adil Rashid enjoyed his best game in Test cricket, the seamers were miserly and the other spinners did not suffer by comparison with India’s much-heralded twirly men.
Cook’s 30th Test ton took him past the total of legendary Aussie Don Bradman — though he has played 84 more matches — while Hameed failed by 18 runs to become the first teenager to reach three figures for England.
Hameed’s innings is still the highest score by a teen for England — beating the 74 by Jack Crawford against South Africa in Cape Town back in 1906.
The stand between Hameed and Cook was England’s best for the first wicket in India, overhauling the 178 compiled by Graeme Fowler and Tim Robinson in Chennai in 1985.
It was Cook’s fifth Test century in India, a feat achieved by no other overseas batsman, and he passed 1,000 runs in a calendar year for the first time. His nine Test centuries in Asia is also a record.
India were set 310 in what turned out to be 52 overs and had various wobbles before Kohli piloted them to safety.
Cook added: “This was a brilliant performance all round — especially from our three spinners who came in for a lot of criticism in Bangladesh.
“No-one spoke of us having a chance in this series but the way we played showed we’re in there. We have to rest up well.
“I’m feeling fairly jaded and I think the lads are — doing 160 overs in the dirt in India’s first innings to keep their total below ours was fairly brutal.
“We got ourselves in a position to force a result on day five. It’s disappointing not to get over the line but it was a great Test and everyone can be proud.
“I said at the start of the tour we’ve some very talented players. Ben Stokes, Mo Ali and Joe Root are world-class. Stokes is a golden player. Now we must do it again.”
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