England set formidable total against India

Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid hit half-centuries to lead England to 477 in fifth and final Test against India
DECEMBER 18, 201612:19AM

DEBUTANT Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid struck gritty half-centuries to help England post a formidable 477 against India on day two of the fifth and final Test in Chennai on Saturday.

Dawson (66 not out) and Rashid (60) shared a record 108-run eight-wicket partnership to frustrate the Indian bowlers on what looks like a good batting pitch.
India were 60 for no loss at stumps with Lokesh Rahul (30) and Parthiv Patel (28) at the crease. The hosts still trail by 417 runs in the first innings.

England, who started the day on 284-4, were reduced to 321-7 in the morning session after overnight centurion Moeen Ali departed for 146 but Dawson and Rashid kept the visitors going.
The duo’s partnership bettered England’s previous best eighth-wicket stand in India of 97 by Douglas Jardine and Hedley Verity on their first-ever tour in 1933-34 in Chennai.

The England innings ended 45 minutes into the evening session with Amit Mishra cleaning up Jake Ball for 12.

All-rounder Dawson, who was a late inclusion in the England squad before the fourth Test, showed his batting prowess during his 148-ball stay, hitting 5 fours and a six.
Dawson’s effort was the highest by an England No. 8 on debut in Tests, surpassing David Bairstow’s 59 against India in 1979.
Rashid, who recorded his second Test fifty in his 10th game, also looked solid during his gutsy effort as he fell one short of his Test best of 61.

Earlier Ali seemed relentless in his drive to consolidate England’s position after adding 26 runs to his overnight score but his efforts were cut short just after the first drinks interval of the day.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s ploy of getting his pacemen to bowl short at Ali paid off as the left-hander mistimed a pull on one of Umesh Yadav’s rising deliveries.
Yadav and Ishant Sharma took two wickets each while Ravindra Jadeja, with three wickets on the opening day, stood out on the bowling list for India.
The hosts have already pocketed the series 3-0.

Anyone cheering for India ? ::confused::

I am guessing you are @Alien?  477 is a remarkable number indeed, but who knows next time the outcome will be entirely different?

I doh know if England cud have done bettah but I wondered where deh were going wit' dat bowlin' attack from the fus' time I glimpsed it ::confused:: ::confused::

who the hell is Dawson.and Ball ::confused:: ::confused:: ::confused::

and deh had to kill Moeen in the end..41 overs + 146.  he have to be sleeping all now, restin' up now so dat he can bat again tonight.

wat a bad side englan'd pik this time.  if India liked to score fas' like west indies deh wud make a thousand by now against dat bowlin'

This just shows what happens when a pitch isn't prepared up to a decent standard I think. I don't really want to get into a debate about how pitches should be prepared, but this is one of the flattest I've ever seen. Average players will be able to make a decent score on a pitch like this, and from the bowlers point of view, there isn't much you can do apart from get smashed around the ground.