Cook happy with draw

“It was strange, because of a lot of balls were turning quite big but weren’t taking that many wickets. Credit to the guys for how they played the spin. Good to start with, then turned more. Got to play well enough to be in it towards the end, and we were in it,” he said after the match.

"It’s nice to score a few, maybe because you don’t get too many nicks here. Once you do get in, (balls) don’t carry. At the top of the order, if you get in you saw in the (double century) partnership between (India s Murali) Vijay and (Cheteshwar) Pujara ) (in the first innings), if you get through the first 30 or 40 balls, there are big runs here. Luckily my record here is okay," he said modestly after becoming the first visiting batsman to score five hundreds.

"You re always going to be slightly nervous on the first day of a big series. Second innings was quite hard work, (Ravindra) Jadeja bowling into the rough with a brand new ball, some at 60mph.

"(I) haven’t been in the greatest form. Not had that rhythm in the nets. I didn’t have it in Bangladesh, nor had it over here. After drinks, I wanted to push on, freed me up a bit and helped my game. Nice to score runs when you are not at your best," he added.

He was also pleased with his spinners’ show as all of them were less experienced than the Indian trio in these conditions but still came off better.

"(It was) a brilliant performance all-round, especially our three spinners who came into criticism on turning wickets. (This) was a flatter wicket (than in Dhaka) and they bowled a lot better. (It’s) great to have Saqqy (ex-Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq) here (as spin bowling consultant)."