Zak Crawley slams his fourth half-century of India Test series
What's the story
Zak Crawley continues his impressive form in the ongoing Test tour of India as he slammed a fine half-century on Day 1 of the fifth and final game. The England opener batted magnificently and ended up scoring 79 off 108 balls (11 fours, 1 six). Though this was his fourth fifty of the tour, he would be gutted about missing out on a ton.
Knock
Another fine effort from Crawley
Despite the Dharamsala track having swing on offer for new-ball pacers, Crawley backed his attacking game and did not hesitate to play his shots. Alongside fellow opener Ben Duckett (27), he added 64 runs. He was also involved in 30-plus stands with Ollie Pope and Joe Root as England went past 130. Crawley fell to Kuldeep Yadav in the second session.
Series tally
400 runs in the series
During his knock, Crawley became the second batter to complete 400 (now 407) runs in the series, having joined Yashasvi Jaiswal (655). This was his fourth half-century in this tour as his preceding scores read 42, 60, 15, 11, 76, 73, 20, and 31. Overall, this was his fifth Test fifty against India as he has completed 562 runs against them at 33.05.
Stats
Here are his Test numbers
Crawley completed 2,500 Test runs in his preceding outing in Ranchi. Playing his 44th Test, the right-handed batter has now raced to 2,611 runs at an average of 33.05. The tally includes four tons and 14 half-centuries. Crawley has been the flagbearer of England's Bazball ploy in the format. His blazing starts have been fruitful for them across conditions.
Milestone
Do you know?
Crawley has become just the sixth England opener to score 400 or more runs in a bilateral Test series in India. He has joined the likes of Alastair Cook (562 in 2012), Graham Gooch (487 in 1981-82), Tim Robinson (444 in 1984-1985), and Graeme Fowler (438 in 1984-85), and Dennis Amiss (417 in 1976-1977).