Shreyas Iyer's 92 shone bright on a treacherous M Chinnaswamy pitch where 16 wickets fell on day one of the pink-ball Test between India and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The Mumbai batter top-scored in India's 252 all-out. In response, at stumps, Sri Lanka was tottering at 86/6.
India began the bowling with Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin. Bumrah got Kusal Mendis caught at third slip with an outswinger and in his very next over, had Lahiru Thirimanne nicking to third slip again.
After just a two-over spell from Ashwin, Rohit Sharma turned to Mohammed Shami, who clean bowled Dimuth Karunaratne with a in-dipper to leave Sri Lanka 14 for 3. He had his second when he trapped Dhananjaya de Silva in front. Axar Patel then removed Charith Asalanka and Bumrah nipped out Angelo Mathews to put the host side in the ascendancy.
Earlier, on a square-turner with inconsistent bounce, Iyer gave a stunning exhibition of his defensive technique, batting almost risk-free — he was dropped on 50,68 and 82— from the first ball. Iyer was stumped just eight short of what would have been a sensational hundred in trying conditions.
His unerring selection and execution of his attacking strokes made it a connoisseur's delight. But three strokes captured the essence of his batting. The first one was a drive between extra cover and mid-off off Lasith Embuldeniya for four. The second was a six over midwicket off Dhananjaya de Silva that took him from 37 to 43. The last, a straight six against a turning ball from P. Jayawickrama, after he had brought up his 50 off just 54 balls.
AS IT HAPPENED:
Rohit won the toss and chose to bat. There was a huge lbw appeal against Mayank Agarwal off an in-swinger early on. Given not-out initially, Agarwal decided to steal a run as the ball rolled over to the vacant cover region. Agarwal, halfway down the pitch despite Rohit's apparent disinterest, was unable to beat Jayawickrama's throw. It was a lucky escape for Sri Lanka since had it reviewed, Agarwal would've been not-out as he had got an inside edge and it was a no-ball.
Given the dry nature of the wicket, Embuldeniya was introduced inside the first 10 overs and he struck in his second over. At 2:50 pm, Rohit offered a simple chance to gully. The moment the ball landed in Dhananjay's hands, a near-capacity crowd, most of them screaming, rose to their feet. There walked Virat Kohli, amid raucous chants of "Virat, Virat!". His first scoring shot was a scorching cover-drive off Embuldeniya.
Sri Lanka switched to spin from both ends in the 13th over with Jayawickrama coming on. Hanuma Vihari, meanwhile, prioritised defence and made sure he didn't get beaten on the inside edge by the straighter balls. He played well for his 31 before Jayawickrama got one to grip, turn and bounce, and Niroshan Dickwella took a sharp catch behind the stumps.
With left-handed Rishabh Pant coming ahead of Shreyas Iyer, off-spinner Dhananjaya was summoned. He immediately got Kohli out lbw for 23 with one that turned from outside off and kept low to hit his front pad.
At 86 for 4, Pant expectantly changed the tempo of the innings with a 26-ball 39, studded with seven fours, but was clean bowled by Embuldeniya shortly after the tea break. Embuldeniya had his third wicket when he got Ravindra Jadeja gloving to slip with one that turned and cramped the batter for room. Ashwin, Axar Patel and Shami fell in quick succession but Iyer ensured India didn't feel the pinch of the late fall of wickets.
Sri Lanka further helped the cause by allowing Iyer to farm the strike with ease in the company of last man Bumrah. The opposition spinners were also guilty of offering a buffet of half-volleys and half-trackers on a helpful wicket and paid the price.
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