CHANNAI: England continued to have a second good day in succession in the fifth Test at Chennai but India fought hard, with the ball early in the morning and later through a solid opening stand, to ensure that they don’t fall too far behind.
Resuming the day on 284 for four, England managed to stretch their first innings score to 477, thanks to half centuries from debutant Liam Dawson (66 not out) and Adil Rashid (60). The duo put on a 108-run stand for the eighth wicket and ensured that India’s burst early in the morning was negated.
At the start of the day, it was India who called all the shots in the first hour, picking up three quick wickets and at one stage threatening to bowl England out for well below 400. The home boy Ravichandran Ashwin began on a positive note, getting Ben Stokes to edge one behind to the wicketkeeper. Starting the day along with him was Ishant Sharma, who produced an intense first spell of 4-1-6-1, providing enough support from the other end. Ishant was sharp with his bouncers, troubling Moeen Ali and was effective against Jos Buttler by targetting the stumps. Buttler had been saved once despite a review but the second time around, Ishant caught him plumb in front for five.
Moeen continued to be tested by the strangely delayed short-ball tactic in a sharp spell from Umesh Yadav as well. India had placed fielders in catching positions on the leg side and Moeen walked straight into the trap, miscuing a pull to Jadeja off Umesh and ending a valiant knock of 146. England were looking up to him to take them to a good first-innings score but at 321 for seven, it looked like a lot of England’s good work on the first day was being undone. However, a sprightly stand between Rashid and Dawson put them on top once again.
Dawson was struck on the helmet by an Ishant bouncer off just the second ball he faced in Test cricket but showed a lot of grit to carry on unfazed to become the third England debutant to score a fifty in this series. With Rashid, he was happy to take his chances for boundaries, picking the googlies and carrom ball well and showing the right intent to keep going for runs on a track that didn’t hold any demons. Rashid was equally good in blunting the spinners and finding boundaries without any undue risk.
The partnership continued to remain risk-free as the pair grew in confidence in the post-Lunch session. The duo also ensured that England went past the 400-run mark, giving the visitors a psychological boost. It finally ended when Rashid edged to the keeper trying to cut a ball to close to him but his knock of 60 was very vital for England’s progress in the game. Dawson tried to chance his arm around with just the last two wickets for company and managed to stitch together 48 before Jake Ball was castled by an Amit Mishra googly. He remained unbeaten on 66, a job well done, to see England through to a total close to 500.
India started on the back foot straightaway with Murali Vijay unable to open the innings after taking a bad fall at point while fielding in the second session. The opener had bruised his left shoulder and was off the field for the rest of the England innings. While he was kept under observation, India had a makeshift opening combination (yet again!) with Parthiv Patel walking out with KL Rahul. Parthiv had just kept wickets for close to 158 overs, over five and a half sessions but had just a ten-minute break in between before he walked right back onto the field again, to face Broad and Ball. India’s worries were heightened when Rahul began to cramp up very early into the innings. The physio, Patrick Farhat, was left running in and out as Rahul tried to stay on.
Gradually, with the cramps easing out, Rahul began to play some flowing drives. England, like India, were finding out that the pitch wasn’t offering any undue advantage, with the ball taking its time to come onto the bat even when there was turn. A chance was created by Moeen when Parthiv was on 11 and was caught poking out and edging, but it was too quick for Bairstow to react. The new opening pair put on a fifty-run stand comfortably and remained unbeaten at stumps leading India’s confident reply.
Brief Scores: England 477 (Moeen Ali 146, Joe Root 88, Liam Dawson 66*; Ravindra Jadeja 3-106) lead India 60/0 by 417 runs
