London: Alastair Cook received a guard of honour from the Indian team, a handshake from Virat Kohli and a standing ovation from the Oval crowd as he walked out to bat in his final Test Friday.
The 33-year-old Cook is playing his final Test for England after which he will retire from international cricket, a decision which he took earlier this week following a prolonged lean patch.
As the batting great walked out to bat, he got a guard of honour from the visiting side, at the end of which he shook hands with captain Kohli.
In 161 Tests, the country's highest run-getter has so far scored 12,254 runs at an average of 44.88 with 32 hundreds and 56 half centuries.