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تحدث الإسباني بيب جوارديولا، المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر سيتي، لوسائل الإعلام، اليوم الثلاثاء، قبل مواجهة إنتر ميلان الإيطالي، في نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا، السبت المقبل.

وبدأ جوارديولا بالحديث عن أنجي بوستيكوجلو مدرب توتنهام الجديد، قائلا “بالتأكيد هو إضافة جيدة إلى الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، مدرب استثنائي آخر قادم، كنت محظوظًا لمقابلته في طوكيو عندما كان مدربا لفريق يوكوهاما”.

وعن لياقة كايل ووكر، أجاب: “كان يعاني من إصابة في ظهره، بالأمس لم يكن جيدًا، اليوم كان أفضل قليلا، لم نرغب في المخاطرة وسنرى في الأيام القادمة”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. دي بروين يعارض جوارديولا: الفوز بدوري أبطال أوروبا لن يحدد مسيرتي

وواصل جوارديولا: “بعض الناس يريدون أن يفوز مانشستر سيتي بدوري أبطال أوروبا، والبعض الآخر لا يريد، بعض الأندية أصدقاء، أنا متأكد من أنهم يريدون ذلك، والبعض الآخر لا يريد، لكن هذا أمر طبيعي، الأمر يتعلق بما لدينا لنفعله للتغلب على إنتر”.

وأكمل: “خلال يومين سنسافر إلى إسطنبول، إنه حلم، قبل عامين كنا هناك، لكن ظروف مختلفة، بسبب كورونا، يتعلق الأمر بما عليك القيام به في 90 دقيقة، لكي تكون أفضل من الخصم، في مباراة واحدة، عليك أن تكون أفضل”.

وعن الدافع من آخر نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا، قال “لا يمكنني التحدث باسم اللاعبين؛ بعضهم كان هناك، والبعض الآخر لم يكن، إنه وضع مختلف، منذ عامين لم يمض وقت طويل وبالطبع نريد أن ننتهي بشكل مختلف، ولكن علينا أن نعرف بالضبط ما يتعين علينا القيام به”.

وأضاف: “من حيث الأسلوب، ماذا تفعل بالكرة وبدونها، الأمر يتعلق بما ستفعله في 90 دقيقة، نحن نقبل ما يقوله الناس لا مشكلة على الإطلاق، أنا متفائل جدًا، لكن لا يمكنني إنكار جودة المنافسين”.

وتابع: “أنا أكثر من هادئ، ممتن للغاية لما فعله اللاعبون، لكن النهائيات مختلفة للغاية، ما سنفعله في الأيام المقبلة هو فهم المباراة التي يجب أن نلعبها، ستكون مباراة كثيرة من الصعوبات، ليس من السهل مهاجمة النظام الدفاعي الذي يستخدمونه”.

واختتم: “يجب أن نتحلى بالكثير من الإيقاع والصبر، الإيقاع الصحيح هو أهم شيء في هذا النوع من المباريات، لقد اعتادوا السيطرة على المباريات في إيطاليا، لديهم الكثير من الأنماط الجيدة لذا علينا الدفاع بشكل جيد، إنها مباراة نهائية ضد فريق كبير وعلينا القيام بذلك، نحن واثقون”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Com o fim do ano, grande parte dos jogadores não sabem por onde vão atuar na próxima temporada e com Alemão não é diferente. O jogador, que passou pelo Figueirense e Londrina em 2019, teve o contrato encerrado após o término da Série B e não deve permanecer para o próximo ano. Sobre seu futuro, o lateral deixou em aberto e disse sobre treinar nesse período:

– Estou livre no mercado, mas não tenho nada concreto para ano que vem. No momento, vou curtir as férias com a família e descansar um pouco, mas pretendo fazer uma corrida na areia e jogar um futevôlei pra manter a forma em dia – afirmou.

Com passagens pelo Botafogo, ajudando a equipe a se classificar para a Taça Libertadores de 2017, e Internacional, o lateral-direito também comentou sobre de que forma as experiências em grandes clubes foram benéficas para ele.

– A minha experiência em passar clubes gigantes, sempre ajuda no currículo. Foi importante porque aprendi bastante também com diversos jogadores consagrados e saber como funciona o dia a dia de um time grande – concluiu.

New Zealand are on course for an historic series victory against England after dominating the fourth day of the final Test in Auckland

The Report by George Dobell24-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPeter Fulton cut loose as New Zealand’s lead grew•Getty Images

New Zealand are on course for an historic series victory against England after dominating the fourth day of the final Test in Auckland. Peter Fulton’s second century of the match took New Zealand out of reach, but it was the bowlers who hammered nails into the coffin of England’s hopes to salvage a draw. England will resume on the final day with just six wickets in hand and all three of their most obdurate batsmen gone.Fulton, who came into the game having not scored a century in a Test career that began in 2006, pulverised the England attack on the fourth day in a devastating partnership with his captain, Brendon McCullum, that did not so much close the door on England’s hopes as slam it in their faces.Fulton’s heroics have earned New Zealand an outstanding opportunity to claim just the second home series win in their history against England. The first was in 1983-84. New Zealand have not won a series against any of the top eight Test nations – nations other than Bangladesh or Zimbabwe – since they defeated West Indies in 2006.Here they set England 481 to win the third Test and, with it, the series. New Zealand finally declared on 241 for 6 in their second innings having plundered runs with ease against a dispirited attack.The manner with which Fulton brought up his second century of the match – a straight six thumped back over the head of Stuart Broad – spoke volumes for the balance of power in this encounter: New Zealand, roundly dismissed as no-hopers before the series, established dominance over an England team that arrived in the country full of confidence, having just beaten India in India.New Zealand, resuming 274 ahead at the start of play on the fourth day, extended their advantage by another 206 runs in just 34.2 overs. Fulton, batting with more confidence than at any time in his Test career following his maiden century in the first innings, drove powerfully through mid-on and three times took a step or two down the pitch to thump Monty Panesar for six back over the bowler’s head. As his confidence grew, he gave himself room to drive Anderson over extra cover for six more.He became one of just four New Zealand players to have scored one in each innings of the same Test. Glenn Turner (against Australia in 1973-74), Geoff Howarth (against England in 1977-78) and Andrew Jones (against Sri Lanka in 1991) are the others to have done so.Smart stats

Peter Fulton became the fourth New Zealand batsman to score a century in each innings of a Test, and the first since Andrew Jones against Sri Lanka 22 years ago.

Fulton is only the second New Zealand opener to achieve this feat, after Glenn Turner in 1974.Overall, there are 26 instances of opening batsmen scoring hundreds in each innings of a Test.

Fulton became the first New Zealand batsman to play more than 500 deliveries in a Test match since Mark Richardson in 2004. Richardson played 575 balls to score 194 runs at Lord’s against England.

The most overs ever played by England in the fourth innings of a Test against New Zealand is 146.4, in Christchurch in 1997. England, chasing a target of 305 in that match, won by four wickets.

Brendon McCullum’s 53-ball unbeaten 67 is the tenth-quickest 50-plus score by a New Zealand batsman in Tests. Six of those top ten innings have come against England.

The fifth-wicket partnership of 117 between Fulton and McCullum came off 101 balls. The run-rate of 6.95 per over is the second-fastest ever in Tests for a century stand for New Zealand.

His fifth-wicket partnership with his captain, Brendon McCullum, was worth 117 runs, scored in just 16.5 overs, as New Zealand progressed with an ease that made a mockery of the gap between these two teams in the Test rankings.Fulton enjoyed one moment of fortune. When he had 31, he mistimed his attempted on drive off Stuart Broad but saw James Anderson, at a shortish midwicket, spill a sharp but far from impossible chance. New Zealand would have been 65 for 4 had it been taken.England produced an oddly diffident performance in the field. Their attempt to pitch the ball fuller in search of swing that remained elusive too often resulted in over-pitched deliveries that Fulton drove through mid-on. At other times the England bowlers drifted on to Fulton’s legs, allowing him to pick up runs with an ease that defined the match situation.The introduction of Panesar brought some relief for England. His third delivery induced Dean Brownlie to attempt to clear the field. Ian Bell, running back from mid-on, made a desperately tough chance appear straightforward.But that only brought McCullum to the crease. He square drove his first delivery, a wide, over-pitched ball from Steven Finn, to the point boundary and soon pulled Anderson, looking more jaded by the moment, and Finn for sixes.Panesar bore the brunt of the assault, though, His attempt to stem the flow by bowling over the wicket and into the rough outside the right-handers’ leg stumpwas negated when McCullum took him for successive boundaries, a powerful pull followed by a precise sweep, and drove him for another six. Panesar conceded52 in five overs at one point. It was brutal batting.Whatever Alastair Cook envisaged when he won the toss and inserted New Zealand on the first day, it was surely not a situation where his side had to bat for four-and-a-half sessions to save the game. There were no realistic hopes of victory: England have never chased more than the 332 they made against Australia in Melbourne in 1928-29 to win a Test and no team has ever made more than the 418 West Indies made against Australia in Antigua in 2002-03. The highest successful chase on this ground is 348, made by West Indies in 1968-69, though since the introduction of drop-in pitches just over a decade ago, no side has managed more than the 166 scored, admittedly for the loss of just one wicket, in 2005.Nor is this the England team that enjoyed such success a couple of years ago. Not only is there no Kevin Pietersen, but there are fewer lower-order allrounders such as Graeme Swann or Tim Bresnan. Two of the middle-order, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, came into this game with only eight Test caps between them and the days when Stuart Broad could be considered an allrounder seem long ago.Tim Southee soon made inroads into England’s second innings. Nick Compton, feeling for a fine delivery that pitched on off stump and left him, edged a catch behind the stumps before Jonathan Trott squandered his display of resistance by chasing a wide one from the impressively sharp Neil Wagner, bowling left-arm around the wicket.But the hammer blow was inflicted by part-time off-spinner Kane Williamson. Cook, on one, had survived a chance to BJ Watling when he felt for one angled across him from Southee. But when he edged a drive off Williamson, Brownlie, very close in at gully, clung on to a very sharp chance.With Finn, the nightwatchman, also falling to an outstanding close catch before the close, New Zealand were on the brink of a memorable success. It meant that a series that started with many England supporters presuming an easy victory looks set to finish with their team engaged in a desperate – and surely vain – struggle to salvage a draw.

Shane Watson will be pushing against the prevailing tide of Australian cricket should he choose to abandon bowling in his search for a way out of the maze of injuries that have blighted his sporadic Test career

Daniel Brettig29-Dec-2012

Shane Watson will be pushing against the prevailing tide of Australian cricket should he choose to abandon bowling in his search for a way out of the maze of injuries that have blighted his sporadic Test career. In the aftermath of the Boxing Day Test, in which he aggravated a calf niggle he had taken into the match, Watson admitted for the first time that he was seriously considering recasting himself as a batsman to play more consistent sequences for Australia.The national selectors and the team performance manager Pat Howard have made it patently clear their preference is for Watson to remain an allrounder, in keeping with a policy to push for cricketers as widely skilled as possible. This has been underlined by the selection of the Victorian Glenn Maxwell for the New Year’s Test at the SCG, where his assortment of skills will contrast with the one-note batting role Watson may yet turn to.”At the end of the Test series Shane will have the opportunity to sit down with a few of us and have that discussion,” Howard said. “The selectors have been very keen on having people who are multi-skilled across the board. You’ve seen many of our players bowl this summer, even the wicketkeeper. I think the selectors are open to discussion with any player regarding how they see they can get the best out of them. If Shane Watson opens that dialogue he’s free to do that, and to be judged on those performances.”Very much the selectors do want that multi-skill ability. That’s not just about Shane Watson, they love people being able to bat, bowl, field, bring some leadership to the table, and having more than one skill. When the selectors sit down they do look at that ability, but also they look at the mix as well. If Shane or anybody wants to be a batsman only, well somebody else has got to be able to take up the overs.”That’s something selectors think about when they put up a squad of 13 but also when they put up 11. How can they make sure that Michael Clarke, Mickey Arthur, the selectors and the team have a bowling armoury that can work together and deal with a James Pattinson situation from Adelaide. We got exposed there, obviously, it had flow-on effects for Perth and probably flow-on effects afterwards.”The push towards cricketers of greater versatility may presently be linked to reducing the chances of injuries to the squad’s younger fast bowlers, but has its origins in the West Australian Sheffield Shield teams of the 1970s led by John Inverarity and his deputy Rod Marsh, now the senior selection figures on the national panel. The emphasis on batsmen who could bowl and vice versa was pronounced enough to mean even wicketkeeper Marsh bowled his quota in the nets. Howard also noted that at 37, the highly valuable Michael Hussey could not be expected to bowl as much as he has in recent times, leaving further slack to take up.”The reliance on Mike taking at 37 years of age a lot of overs is something we can’t rely on,” Howard said. “Being able to do the odd over here and there we’ve seen Dave Warner bowl, so that multi-skill is being pushed. I know Usman Khawaja bowled in the Chairman’s XI and got a wicket against Sri Lanka. So that message is getting through from the selectors. Those who work hard on their fielding, work hard on their other attributes … we want that ability to bat deep, we want batsman to bowl, and John Inverarity and Mickey Arthur and the selection panel do drum that in.”Typically, Watson has been reluctant to play when picking up injuries, even minor ones. Yet in Melbourne he played, his calf niggle perhaps overshadowed by the greater doubt surrounding Clarke’s hamstring and the presumption that Watson would take up the leadership of the team if the captain failed to prove his fitness.”It was a niggle, nothing more than that,” Howard said. “If you’re a professional sportsman you have niggles you have going in. He had a niggle, so did a lot of guys, but it did get worse during the Test match. That [Watson not playing] was a possibility. But we know that he can contribute, we know he had a heavy workload in Hobart, but so did Peter Siddle, so did Mitchell Starc, and we knew from the lesson from Adelaide to Perth, taking a group of guys all with high injury risks, you can’t take everybody in together.”Howard also sounded a note of gratitude for the selectors’ fortitude in ignoring public pressure not to rest Mitchell Starc from the Melbourne Test after his five-wicket haul to close out the first Test in Hobart. Mitchell Johnson and Jackson Bird were instead included as fresh pacemen and shared 10 wickets between them as Sri Lanka were routed on two and a half days.”The fast bowling discussion was a very big one in the lead-up to this Test,” Howard said. “There’ll be differing views through that process but there’s the opportunity to give the selectors a bit of a wrap regarding that. They held firm and I think many of you would say there’s been some benefit to that process, so I think on reflection it’s been a reasonably positive couple of days.”Injuries are a difficult part of the world game at the moment that we’ve all got to try to be very good at, we want to be the best at it, and we’ve got a long way to go. It’s one of those things where if we try to play with 11 [fit] players it makes a significant difference to the outcome of the game.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Nesta terça-feira, o técnico Odair Hellmann concedeu entrevista no CT Parque Gigante e falou sobre o planejamento dos primeiros jogos do Internacional no ano. Com um calendário repleto de compromissos e pouco tempo para recuperação, a tendência é que ele mescle titulares e reservas.

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‘Pretendemos usar a maior parte do elenco nos primeiros quatro jogos. A partir disso vamos dar uma sequência maior a uma formação’, revela o comandante.

Sem levantar nenhum título nos últimos dois anos, o treinador não escondeu a sede por conquistas e promete o Internacional brigando em todas as frentes.

‘Nós trabalhamos sempre com os maiores objetivos de todas as competições. Vamos entrar em todas elas almejando os primeiros lugares’, ressalta Odair.

O Colorado estreia na temporada 2019 no próximo domingo, quando encara o São Luiz, pelo Campeonato Gaúcho.

علق تشافي هيرنانديز المدير الفني لفريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي برشلونة، على خسارة ريال مدريد أمام مانشستر سيتي في دوري أبطال أوروبا برباعية نظيفة.

ريال مدريد سقط سقوطًا مروعًا على ملعب الاتحاد بعد التعادل ذهابًا 1/1، وخسر إياب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال اوروبا أمام مانشستر سيتي 4/0.

وعند توجيه سؤال لـ تشافي بشأن المباراة، أن مانشستر سيتي أعطى حمامًا ساخنًا لـ ريال مدريد، رد في المؤتمر الصحفي لمواجهة ريال سوسيداد: “لا أحب تلك الكلمة (حمام) في كرة القدم، بالنسبة لي أعتبرها كلمة مهينة”.

طالع أيضًا.. تشافي يوضح ويرد على أنباء ضم زوبيميندي إلى برشلونة في الصيف

وأضاف: “أكره تلك الكلمة، لكن هذا لا يمنع أن مانشستر سيتي كان متفوقًا في الشوط الأول كُليًا، استغل ذلك بتسجيل الأهداف، وبالنسبة لي هم أفضل فريق في العالم الآن”.

وأشار: “جماهير برشلونة بالتأكيد سعيدة بخروج ريال مدريد، لكن لا يهم إقصاء ريال مدريد ومدى تأثيره على الدوري الإسباني، نحن نقدر الـ19 فريقًا في الدوري مهما كانت قوتهم”.

عن المشاركة في الأبطال الموسم المقبل: “نريد أن يكون لنا دور في دوري أبطال أوروبا، إنه هدف رئيسي لنا في الموسم المقبل، لم نصل إلى المستوى الذي يطلبه هذا النادي في أوروبا، ندرك ذلك وندرك أن الجماهير ليست سعيدة”.

استطاع فريق فاركو خطف بطاقة التأهل لدور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر، بعد الفوز على نظيره المصرية للاتصالات بهدف دون رد، خلال المباراة التي جمعت بينهما مساء اليوم الأربعاء.

فاركو واجه المصرية للإتصالات على أرضية استاد الإسكندرية، في خضم منافسات دور الـ32 من عمر بطولة كأس مصر.

وسجل أحمد شريف هدف فاركو في الدقيقة 25 من أحداث الشوط الأول، بعد خطأ من مدافع المصرية للإتصالات استغله شريف بتسديدة قوية من على حدود منطقة الجزاء.

طالع | فيديو | الزمالك ينجو من فخ بروكسي ويتأهل إلى دور الـ16 من كأس مصر

بهذا الفوز يصعد فريق فاركو إلى دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر، ويواجه الزمالك الذي تأهل إلى نفس الدور بعدما فاز على بروكسي بنتيجة 3-2. هدف فوز فاركو على المصرية للاتصالات في كأس مصر

MatériaMais Notícias

O Goiás está próximo de anunciar mais um reforço para a temporada de 2019. O centro-avante, Junior Brandão, com passagem pelo Atlético-GO, está próximo de vestir a camisa do Esmeraldino. O jogador estava noLudogorets, da Bulgária, e caso concretize a negociação, chegará por um ano de empréstimo. A informação foi publicada primeiramente pelo Globo Esporte.

Em agosto, Junior Brandão foi negociado por R$ 7 milhões, mas sua passagem pela Europa não rendeu o esperado. Ele disputou apenas dois jogos oficiais desde então. O jogador não se adaptou ao clima frio e à comida da Bulgária e viu com bons olhos uma volta ao Brasil.

A vinda do atleta seria uma opção para o ataque, já que não contará com o artilheiro da equipe em 2019. O atacante Lucão não chegou em acordo com a diretoria e acabou não renovando o contrato. Por todas as competições disputadas, o jogador, conhecido por fazer o break dance, marcou 21 gols.

Antes de terminar o ano, o Goiás anunciou três reforços importantes. Os zagueiros Fabio Sanches e Rafael Vaz, e o lateral Nilson Loyola. Além deles, o técnico Maurício Barbieri chega ao clube para comandar na volta da Série A.

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MatériaMais Notícias

O Vasco segue negociando a chegada de Jhonny Lucas, que pertence ao Paraná. Para ter o volante, a cúpula cruz-maltina irá colocar à disposição da diretoria paranaense nomes com os direitos ligados em São Januário, como o lateral-direito Rafael Galhardo, o zagueiro Jomar e o meia Guilherme Costa. Esta ideia de “moeda de troca” para avançar no negócio deve ser colocada na mesa em reunião entre as partes nesta semana.

O maior obstáculo do Vasco é justamente o valor da negociação. O Paraná, rebaixado para a Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro de 2019, quer fazer caixa com Jhonny Lucas, de 18 anos, presença constante na Seleção Sub-20 e, inclusive, chamado por Tite recentemente para treinar junto aos profissionais. O Cruz-Maltino, que passa por um momento financeiro delicado, viu na ideia de oferecer jogadores em troca como uma alternativa para avançar na negociação.

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Vale lembrar que Jhonny Lucas também é monitorado pelo futebol europeu. Apesar de ainda não ter chegado nenhuma sondagem ou proposta concreta, empresários do jogador acreditam que na abertura da janela da Europa, em janeiro, algum interessado pode fazer uma oferta. Caso isso aconteça, a concorrência seria pesada contra o Vasco, o que também faz a cúpula carioca querer logo um desfecho.

Na atual temporada, Jhonny Lucas realizou um total de 26 jogos com a camisa do Paraná e marcou dois gols. O último ocorreu diante do Internacional, na rodada final do Campeonato Brasileiro. Nomes que serão oferecidos em troca pelo Vasco, apenas o lateral-direito Rafael Galhardo esteve no elenco cruz-maltino ao longo da temporada – tanto o zagueiro Jomar quanto o meia Guilherme Costa foram emprestados neste 2018, e não devem ser aproveitados pelo técnico Alberto Valentim para 2019.

The feeling of helplessness that enveloped much of India’s horrendous tours of England and Australia descended again on MS Dhoni’s side on the third day at Eden Gardens

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran07-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jonathan Trott made his first substantial score of the series•BCCI

The feeling of helplessness that enveloped much of India’s horrendous tours of England and Australia descended again on MS Dhoni’s side on the third day at Eden Gardens, as two of the most bloody-minded batsmen in world cricket, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, set about grinding down toothless bowling in the morning. After lunch, India managed to dismiss both of them, but that didn’t alter England’s dominance of the match as Kevin Pietersen and the lower order stacked up some quick runs to stretch the lead towards a comfortable 200.The moment typifying India’s ineptness was Ishant Sharma putting down an absolute dolly off his own bowling when Cook was on 156. A rare Cook mistake sent the ball looping towards Ishant at waist height and at slow pace, but Ishant contrived to fluff that chance, the ball missing his palm and hitting the wrist. Ishant was left scratching his head in disappointment, while MS Dhoni maintained his famously expressionless demeanour.Neither the old ball nor the new one swung, and though there was some uneven bounce – Cook was once surprised by a lifter from Ishant that struck the bat handle – the batsmen weren’t tested much by the quicks as they wiped out the deficit.India’s spinners turned in a much-improved effort after Thursday’s disappointing show, bowling accurately with the old ball in the first hour before getting some bounce and turn with the shiny one. In the second session, they got some help from the pitch as well, spinning the ball past the outside edge several times, and asking questions of the well-set Cook and Trott.Nothing took the shine off Cook’s golden tour, though, as he completed 26 hours of batting in the series, the longest day for India’s bowlers. As usual there was no extravagance from him; he patiently blocked or left countless deliveries, before cashing in on those that were over pitched or on his pads.Trott had missed out in the first two Tests, but not this time. He was cautious early in the morning, but soon helped himself to the gifts offered by India’s bowlers, especially Zaheer Khan and Ishant. Zaheer gave him several deliveries on the pads to put away, while Ishant bowled plenty short and wide. Before long, Trott was calmly dispatching R Ashwin’s variation, the carrom ball, for four, and walking out of the crease before driving.Smart stats

It is only the fourth occasion (third against India) that England have had 150-plus stands for the first and second wickets. The last such occasion for England was against Australia in Brisbane in 2010.

Alastair Cook’s 190 is the second-highest score by a visiting batsman at Eden Gardens. The highest is Rohan Kanhai’s 256 in 1958.

Cook’s aggregate of 547 runs so far is the third-highest for an England batsman in a series in India after Ken Barrington (594) and Mike Gatting (575). The number of balls faced by him (1160) is also the third-highest for an England batsman in a series in India.

Cook has now scored 1234 runs so far this year. Only Michael Clarke, with 1358 runs, has scored more in 2012. Cook is also one of only four players to score four centuries in the year so far.

Cook hit two sixes in an innings for only the second time in his career. The previous occasion was against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2010. The run-out dismissal was also the first for Cook in Tests.

England’s total of 509 is their highest ever in Tests in Kolkata. Overall, it is the third-highest by a visiting team at the venue.

The 173-run stand between Cook and Jonathan Trott is England’s second-best second-wicket stand in India after the 241-run partnership between Mike Gatting and Graeme Fowler in Chennai in 1985.

When England’s tailenders were out in the middle practising their batting during the lunch break, one wondered why they bothered, given how bleak India’s chances of prising apart the Cook-Trott combination looked. The stand finally came to an end on 173 when Pragyan Ojha managed to get a flat delivery to spin away and take Trott’s outside edge to Dhoni.Trott fell 13 short of a hundred, but Cook seemed set for a double, given his massive powers of concentration, and unquenchable thirst for runs. However, Cook too fell short of the milestone, run-out on 190 after a brain-fade. After Pietersen clipped a ball to square leg, Cook took a few strides before turning back. The ball went to India’s best fielder, Virat Kohli, who scored a direct hit after Cook jumped back and lifted his bat to avoid the throw. Cook hadn’t grounded his bat, so there was no question of him escaping on account of evasive action, and he was run-out for the first time in his Test career.Though India had removed both of England’s accumulators, they still had to deal with the more aggressive threat provided by Pietersen. The Barmy Army, which had boisterously cheered the dogged-but-effective scoring of Cook and Trott, was treated to some flamboyant shots from Pietersen, who nonchalantly whipped balls from outside off to the leg-side boundary. With less than 10 minutes to tea, he launched Ojha for a straight six, and began the final session with three successive boundaries.He was toying with the attack, dispatching the ball where he liked and galloped to yet another half-century. However, he missed a sweep soon after was trapped lbw for 54. Even that didn’t lead to a slowdown as Samit Patel capitalised on a tiring attack, and crashed a brisk 33. His chance of making it into a sizeable innings ended when he nicked a catch to slip, where Virender Sehwag juggled before holding on.On what was a depressing day for India fans, one of the most disappointing phases was the hour before stumps. After Samit Patel was dismissed, India needed just one more wicket to get into England’s bonafide tailenders. Instead, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann pummelled 56 runs in the final 13 overs, the highlight of which was a majestic pull for six by Prior off Ishant.India have not lost two home Tests in a row since early 2000, a streak that looks set to come to an end over the next couple of days, unless their faltering batting order finds someone to replicate Cook’s marathon efforts of this series.