LIAM Dawson was thrilled to make his Test debut count despite the shock of being hit on the head by only the second delivery he faced.

The all-rounder, from Calne, may have been picked principally for his left-arm spin, as England try to return fire on Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on their tough tour of India, but they were indebted to the Goatacre man's fine batting after he arrested a first-innings slide which threatened once again to get out of hand.

Dawson's unbeaten 66, and century stand with Adil Rashid (60) for the eighth wicket, steered England away from the relative crisis of 321 for seven on the second morning at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

The revival followed the ball of three quick wickets, including that of centurion Moeen Ali for the addition of only 26 to his overnight 120, which had created a Groundhog Day feeling in a series the tourists have already lost.

The limit of England's ambition here can only be a consolation victory to reduce the eventual arrears to 3-1 - although after India had replied to 477 all out with 60 for none, this final match had all the makings of a stalemate already.

None of that should detract from Dawson's contribution, especially after he ducked into an Ishant Sharma bouncer and needed a new helmet for only his third delivery in Test cricket.

"It's my Test debut - there was no question I was always going to be up for it," Dawson said.

"You make one Test debut, and I was extremely excited - and from a team point of view, we said we wanted to finish this tour on a high."

The Swindon-born 26-year-old admits a Test career was far from his mind as recently as last month, when he was playing for Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League between England one-day international assignments.

Zafar Ansari's back injury meant he got an unexpected call to report to India, though, and little more than two weeks later he found himself walking out to bat at the highest level for the first time.

Asked if he had even entertained the prospect of playing Tests at the start of the winter, Dawson said: "Not at all.

"I went out to Bangladesh for the BPL, and Test cricket didn't even cross my mind.

"So to be sat here now, having made my Test debut in India, is very special."

He was not fazed, even after getting into that early tangle against Ishant.

"It was an interesting first few balls in Test cricket for me, but I was pleased to get through," he added.

"It was a good bouncer. I tried to watch it as hard as I could. But that's part of the game - sometimes you might get it a little bit wrong.

"You've just got to take one ball at a time, and that's what I was thinking. I put that ball to the back of my mind and concentrated on the next one - which was crucial."

His equipment, as well as his temperament, served him well.

"I haven't got a clue where it hit me," Dawson said. "I was all right. It must have hit a good part of the helmet, because I felt fine."

He went on to hit five fours and a six and finish unbeaten after 148 balls - a fine start, but not one which will mean he gets ahead of himself.

Informed afterwards he had hit the highest score by any England debutant batting at number eight or lower, Dawson said: "It's nice to get small milestones - but it is a small milestone.

"From a personal point of view, it's a very special day - and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

One of the India bowlers he conquered was Umesh Yadav, who like Ishant tested him out with the short ball.

Umesh had more luck against Moeen, who mistimed a pull to deep midwicket to put England in transient trouble.

It was one of two wickets for the seamer, who voiced his sympathy for India's spinners as - for the first time in the series - they found precious little assistance in the surface.

"It's very hard for them to bowl on this track," said Umesh.

"It's just not turning that much, and that was the problem."

Dawson's only over before the close was a maiden, but he may be about to find wickets harder to come by than runs in his first Test.