5th Test: England reach 123/1 (Tea report)

England reached 123/1 in their first innings at tea on the opening day of the fifth and final cricket Test against India at the Oval here on Friday.

Veteran opening batsman Alastair Cook (66 not out) and Moeen Ali (23 not out) were at the crease for England at tea as the hosts added 55 runs in the second session without losing any wicket.

Cook, playing in his final international match, registered his 57th fifty in his 161st Test.

The 32-year-old left-hander, who resumed the session with an individual score of 37, got a reprieve at the same score. An away-swigning delivery from paceman Ishant Sharma was poked by Cook but Ajinkya Rahane dropped it at gully in the 31st over.

In the following over, Moeen too got a reprieve while batting on a personal score of 2. The left-hander got a thick edge off Jasprit Bumrah and captain Virat Kohli dropped the left-hander at third slip.

Cook and Moeen, then, batted with strong defences and played riskfree cricket to see off the session. They waited for the loose deliveries to score runs.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who took the wicket of Keaton Jennings (23) in the first session, was dealt with strongly by Cook and Moeen.

Brief scores: England: 123/1 (Alastair Cook 66 not out, Moeen Ali 23 not out, Keaton Jennings 23; Ravindra Jadeja 1/36) vs India at tea on Day 1.

--IANS

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