India's 3 best knocks in pink-ball Tests ft. Virat Kohli
Team India will take on Australia in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval starting Friday, December 6. The hosts are 1-0 up in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having registered a 295-run triumph in the first Test in Perth. The visitors made a stunning comeback after being bowled out for 150 to register their biggest win in terms of runs in Tests Down Under.
The day-night Test in Adelaide will be a challenge of a different proportion. Australia have never lost a pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Overall, they have lost only one of their 12 day-night Test matches - an eight-run defeat against West Indies in Brisbane in January 2024.
As for India, they have played four pink-ball Test matches of which they have won three and lost one. India's only defeat in a day-night Test came in Adelaide in December 2020 when they were bundled out for 36 in their second innings.
As India and Australia prepare for the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Adelaide, we revisit India's three best knocks in pink-ball Tests.
#3 Rohit Sharma (66 vs England in Ahmedabad) - February 2021
On a rank turner at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Rohit Sharma was among the only two batters to cross the half-century mark in the pink-ball Test. Batting first after winning the toss in the third Test, England were bowled out for 112, with opener Zak Crawley scoring 53 of those runs.
In reply, India folded up for 145. Shockingly, the hosts could have conceded the lead had it not been for a masterclass of an innings from Rohit on a near-unplayable surface. The opener occupied the crease for 208 minutes and scored 66 off 96 balls, with the aid of 11 fours.
Rohit's innings ensured a 33-run lead for India. The hosts then bundled out the Englishmen for 81 in their second innings and chased down a target of 49 with all 10 wickets in hand. Rohit (25* off 25) once again made a crucial contribution.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel was named Player of the Match for picking up 11 wickets in the game, but the win could not have been achieved without Rohit's batting efforts.
#2 Shreyas Iyer (92 vs Sri Lanka in Bengaluru) - Mar 2022
Shreyas Iyer is currently out of favor in the Test format, but he was in supreme form in the first few months of his red-ball career on the international stage. He scored 92 off 98 balls in the pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in March 2022.
India batted first in the game and were in big trouble, losing six wickets for 148 runs. Mayank Agarwal (4) and Rohit (15) fell cheaply, while Hanuma Vihari (31), Virat Kohli (23) and Rishabh Pant (39) could not convert starts. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also perished for four as Sri Lanka seemed firmly on top.
Shreyas, however, soaked in all the pressure and played a fantastic knock of 92. The swift innings featured 10 fours and four sixes. The right-hander was looking good for a hundred, but was the last man out, stumped off Praveen Jayawickrama. Shreyas also contributed 67 in the second essay and was named Player of the Match as India won the Test by 238 runs.
#1 Virat Kohli (136 vs Bangladesh in Kolkata) - Nov 2019
Kohli struck an impressive hundred in the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November 2019. Batting first in the match, the visitors were knocked over for 106 as Ishant Sharma starred with 5-22. Kohli then contributed 136 off 194 balls as India declared on 347-9.
The hosts got off to a poor start with the bat as Agarwal (14) and Rohit (21) fell without making significant contributions. A third-wicket stand of 94 between Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara (55) lifted India. The former then added 99 runs for the fourth wicket to Ajinkya Rahane (51).
Kohli's fine hundred featured 18 fours. He was eventually dismissed by Ebadot Hossain, but not before taking India past the 300-run mark. The hosts went on to win the pink-ball Test by an innings and 46 runs. Little did fans know that they would have to wait more than 1,000 days for another Kohli ton.