India captain Rohit Sharma was effusive in his praise for Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, whose batting exploits in the pink-ball Test in Bengaluru helped set up a 238-run win and a 2-0 clean sweep against Sri Lanka.
On Iyer's performance, Rohit said: "Very, very impressed with his performance, not easy to play on these pitches especially when you are playing your third or fourth Test match, it's never easy.
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"He showed a lot of composure. He understood what he exactly wanted to do on that pitch. He has gone in with a plan and to have that kind of mindset for someone who is just playing his fourth Test, shows a lot of maturity, lot of understanding of his own game, which is a good sign for us looking forward. At number six, in these conditions, it is never easy, the game is always in the balance. It can shift either way in that position. He grabbed that opportunity really well and made it count."
Giving freedom
Iyer's classy innings was complemented by Rishabh Pant's barnstorming knock in the third innings, during which he overtook Kapil Dev in scoring the fastest Test fifty by an Indian (off 28 balls). Rohit weighed in on Pant's contributions, with the bat and behind the stumps.
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"His batting is his batting. We know how he bats and as a team we just want to give him that freedom to bat in the way that he wants to bat," Rohit said. "But also keeping in mind certain situations of the game, where the game is going, we have also conveyed that to him.
"There will be times when you will smash your head and say 'why did he play that shot' but again we need to be ready to accept that with him when he bats. And he is somebody who can change the game literally in half an hour or 40 minutes. I think what comes with Rishabh Pant, we are ready to accept that.
Improved glovework
"And the most significant factor of his in this series was his keeping. His keeping was best that I have seen. He kept well when England came last year and he seems to get better every time he keeps wickets for India, so that is something that I have been very impressed with."
Asked about Pant's inputs on DRS calls, Rohit said: "He seems to be making the right calls. DRS we all know, it's like a lottery. I have made it very clear with Rishabh what I want. There are certain aspects of the game that I have told him to look into and that's about it. DRS calls are not something you will always get it right, there will be times when you will be making wrong calls, but that's absolutely okay."
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