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In Stats: Debutant Dawson’s Record and India’s Bowling Strategy

Take a look at day two of the fifth Test match between India and England through numbers.

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Despite losing the huge wicket of Ben Stokes in the very first over of day two, England helped themselves to a relative position of comfort – thanks to half-centuries from Adil Rashid and debutant Liam Dawson, and their busy eighth wicket partnership. 287-5 when Stokes was dismissed, England eventually finished with 477 – their second-highest total on this tour of India.

Take a look at day two of the fifth Test match between India and England through numbers.
(Photo: Rythum Seth/The Quint)
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After Ashwin had Stokes caught behind in the fifth delivery of the day, India made further inroads into the English line-up – including dismissing the overnight centurion Moeen Ali – on either side of the drinks break. At 321-7, it was deja vu for India; at the end of the first day’s play in Mumbai, England were 288-5 before they were bowled out for 400 the following day.

But in Chennai, the debutant Dawson, who came out to bat at number eight, and Adil Rashid, who batted at number nine, helped England stretch the total well beyond 400. Both the batsmen put a price on their wickets, made the Indian bowlers toil, and brought up their respective half-centuries.

Rashid was the first to get to the milestone; he got to the half-century in some style too, creaming Ravindra Jadeja through cover for a boundary. It was a patient knock from England’s number nine, for he did not hit his first boundary until his 78th ball, and consumed 141 balls to get to his half-century. He was eventually the eighth man out, edging one from Umesh Yadav to Parthiv Patel behind the stumps.

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Dawson, a surprise call up to the England Test eleven, had a rough introduction to Test cricket. He was struck on the helmet in the second ball that he faced. Despite that early blow, the Hampshire all-rounder wasn’t ruffled one bit; he maintained his composure and went on to score a half-century on debut – getting to the half-century in 121 balls.

When last man Jake Ball was dismissed, Dawson remained unbeaten on 66 – made from 148 balls – and now holds the record for the highest score by an England number eight in his maiden Test innings.

Take a look at day two of the fifth Test match between India and England through numbers.
(Photo: Rythum Seth/The Quint)

Together, Dawson and Rashid added 108 runs for the eighth wicket – England’s highest eighth wicket partnership on all tours of India and the second-highest eighth wicket partnership in Test matches in Chennai.

Take a look at day two of the fifth Test match between India and England through numbers.
(Photo: Rythum Seth/The Quint)
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The stand out feature of the partnership between Dawson and Rashid was the manner they dealt with the Indian spin trio. Eighty one of the 108 runs they added on the day came off the Indian spinners. Dawson was severe on Ravichandran Ashwin, scoring 24 from 38 balls the off-spinner bowled to him, while Rashid scored 22 off the 51 balls Amit Mishra bowled to him.

For India, with a three-wicket haul, Jadeja returned as the most successful bowler. A word of appreciation for the two quicks too. On a surface that didn’t have too much in it for them, both Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma, who at times clocked nearly 150kph, and Ishant Sharma, bowled 21 overs each and picked up two wickets apiece.

What the pair did well was to bowl the lengths depending on the demands of the situation. When in search of wickets, they tended to either go full or bang the ball short, and when the situation demanded, they keep the batsmen quiet, they landed the ball on a good length ball after ball, over after over.

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Take a look at day two of the fifth Test match between India and England through numbers.
(Photo: Rythum Seth/The Quint)

One has to commend Umesh and Ishant, who used the short ball theory effectively to dismiss a well-set Moeen Ali. It is well documented that the England left-hander struggles against the short delivery.

It was therefore surprising – even baffling – that the Indian bowlers didn’t test him with the short deliveries on the opening day. But on day two, they had their guns trained on Moeen’s helmet; off the 16 balls the Indian quicks bowled to the left-hander, 10 were short-pitched deliveries.

The strategy produced the desired result, as the batsman eventually attempted a pull, but only miscued it as far as Jadeja at midwicket.

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Topics:  Test Cricket   India-England 

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