India is led by Pant’s 96 runs, on collective batting day.
India scored runs while losing wickets on a fast-paced first day in Mohali. All of India’s hitters got off to a good start, with Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari both scoring fifty runs; with the former nearly missing out on a century.
Pant, who had been seeded fifth this time, got off to a cautious start. Pant came in at a time when Sri Lanka was threatening to claw their way back into the game; with a good framework already in place. After sharing a 90-run stand, both Virat Kohli and Vihari fell in the space of 18 balls.
Pant and Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, did not let the momentum slide awa; putting together a solid 53-run stand. Even after Iyer was adjudged LBW for 27 against Dananjaya de Silva, India did not falter. Pant and Ravindra Jadeja then put up a 104-run partnership to push India further ahead on the first day.
Pant only changed gears in the 76th over of the day after reaching his fifty off 73 balls. Sri Lanka’s strongest threat on the day, Lasith Embuldeniya; was carted for 22 runs in an over with sixes lofted over mid wicket, before De Silva was hammered for 10 more runs in the next over.
see also: Ashleigh Barty has pulled out of the Indian Wells and Miami competitions.
Pant smashed four sixes as India crossed the 300-run mark, collecting his final 46 runs in just 23 balls. With the second new ball, he missed a straight one from Suranga Lakmal, coming four shy of a ton. The calm partner in that stand, Jadeja, remained undefeated on 45, closing off an excellent batting performance by India.
They put on three half-centuries and one over 100 runs; proving Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat in his debut Test as captain was correct.
The grass was evenly distributed around the surface, with barren areas over the longer length. Sri Lanka’s pacers, on the other hand; were unable to make the most of the conditions with the new ball early on. Both Lakmal and Vishwa Fernando found some movement, but their lengths were off; allowing the openers to get out to a flying start. Rohit and Mayank Agarwal drove effortlessly and quickly built a half-century lead.
When Lahiru Kumara challenged Rohit with a flurry of short-pitched balls, they were looking to up the ante even more. Rohit pulled two of them through midwicket for boundaries, but the third was directed straighter. And Rohit only managed to pull it straight into fine leg’s hands, resulting in a score of 29 off 28.
After Dimuth Karunaratne introduced left-arm spinner Embuldeniya, Sri Lanka gained more control. Mayank had the final laugh; trapping him in front with one slipping on when he was cut for a boundary early. If a leading edge had gone to hand, Embuldeniya could have bowled Kohli for a duck in his 100th Test.
read also: Steffan Jones has been named as the high-performance quick bowling coach for the Rajasthan Royals.
Vihari, who batted in the position previously held by Cheteshwar Pujara; and Kohli saw out the session and then went on to tighten the screws. Vihari led the way in putting Sri Lanka under strain in the second session with a straight driven boundary; en route to his first Test fifty in India. Kohli, too, unfurled his customary smashes through; cover and down the ground as he settled in for a thrilling 90-run stand.
Sri Lanka struggled with no-balls throughout the match; overstepping as many as eight times and struggling to keep the run flow under control. However, Embuldeniya persevered and eventually got one to turn sharply. And it beat Kohli’s defense to hit the top of off because he misjudged the length. Even when he passed the 8000 run mark, he fell five runs short of his fifty.
Against the odds, Kohli’s wicket handed Sri Lanka a boost. Soon after, Vihari struck a poor drive against Vishwa Fernando, which resulted in the stumps clattering off the inside edge. Pant, on the other hand, ensure that there was no possibility to claw back any farther. Sri Lanka’s troubles were compound by the fact that they were only able to bowl 85 overs on the day; potentially resulting in WTC points being forfeit.
India defeated Sri Lanka with a score of 357/6 (Rishabh Pant 96, Hanuma Vihari 58, Virat Kholi 45; Lasith Embuldeniya 2-107).
[…] Also Read: India is led by Pant’s 96 runs, on collective batting day. […]
[…] Also Read: India is led by Pant’s 96 runs, on collective batting day. […]
[…] read more: India is led by Pant’s 96 runs, on collective batting day. […]