Cook just became the 5th Player to Score hundred in his first and last Test match

It is an end of an era for cricket fans as Alastair Cook is playing the last inning of his career. Cook is currently standing at the 5th in the most Test runs tally after crossing Kumar Sangakkara's 12,400 test runs.

Back in 2006, at Nagpur, When Cook scored 104 in the second innings of his debut Test match, almost every lover of the game knew this 21-year-old young boy with his elegant backfoot and a strong defense will make all sorts of scribbles in the record books.

Although 100 in the debut Test match has always been considered as a significant achievement and players have received all sorts of accolades from media and fans but still, it is not a very rare occurrence. Exactly, 81 debut Test innings were converted to 100 before Cook scored his debut 100 in 2006. This number has now reached to 105 when Kevin O'Brien scored his well fought 118 against Pakistan on 11th May 2018. In fact, Lawrence Lowe from West Indies and Yasir Hammed from Pakistan hold a unique record of scoring 100 in both innings of their debut Test match.

There is no doubt that hundreds debut will keep coming as a lot of talented players will become part of the game with the time. But only a few players have finished their career on high on which they built upon. For any player who is playing his farewell game, it is really exacting to perform on that day. As much as players who want to give his best in the last match he is experiencing a sea of emotions on the day. These emotions really make it difficult for him to focus on the job in his hand.

Therefore, till now out of this 103 players who have scored a hundred in their debut Test match only 4 were able to score the same in their last match, namely Reggie Duff, William Harold Ponsford, Greg Chappell, and Mohammad Azharuddin. This record doesn't include the players who played only one Test Match and scored in the same, thus excluding Andy Ganteaume from West Indies & Rodney Redmond from New Zealand. Andy Ganteaume in 1948 scored 112 in his only Test inning against England and thus today holds the record for highest Batting average in Cricket. He was dropped later because of his slow strike rate in the match which disappointed his captain. Rodney Redmond scored 107 & 56 in his only Test against Pakistan in 1973.

Today, When Alastair Cooks took guard for the last time destiny presented him an opportunity to create yet another everlasting memory and become the fifth player to score a hundred in his first and last Test match. He grabbed this opportunity with both hands and went on score his 33rd century, which itself is a remarkable feat.

He came to bat today, having nothing in his mind stand and did what he has done over the years. Today he again played on his back foot while guiding that good length ball occasionally on his legs to the square leg for a single and have the time of his life. Cook would be remembered long for his perfect ending to his career.