Five face-saving partnerships which rescued England after batting failure

#2 Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow (110 against India, November 2016)

Ben Stokes and J Bairstow fought hard against India at Vizag

After the 1-1 Test series with Bangladesh, England faced the stiffer challenge of the Indian spinners on India’s treacherous turning tracks. With the first Test ending in a draw, England required another courageous effort on the second day of the second Test at Vizag while replying to India’s first innings total of 455 all out.

England lost their opener Alastair Cook in the third over and despite Root’s 53, found themselves in trouble at 80/5 with the trail of 375 runs. Once again, it was the pair of Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow that came to England’s rescue with a fighting resistance.

Stokes (70) and Bairstow (53) kept the deadly pair of Ashwin and Jadeja at bay for the next 44 overs and brought England closer to avoiding the follow-on with their 110 runs partnership. Stokes kept battling after Bairstow’s departure but India soon clinched 200-run lead and later achieved a 246-run win.