Bowlers reduce Sri Lanka to 86/6 after Shreyas Iyer's 92 lifts India on Day 1 of pink-ball Test
Shreyas Iyer (92) and the Indian bowlers dominated as 16 wickets fell on Day 1 of the pink-ball Test in Bengaluru on Saturday. India posted 252 after winning the toss and batting first. The hosts then reduced Sri Lanka to 86/6 at stumps.
Jasprit Bumrah (3/15) got India off to a brilliant start with the ball. He sent back Kusal Mendis (2) with a full delivery that the batter edged to third slip in the third over. Lahiru Thirimanne (8) fell in a similar fashion, fishing outside the off-stump. The Sri Lankan innings was in tatters by the 12th over at 28 for 4.
.@Jaspritbumrah93's twin strikes
Two dismissals of similar fashion - one right-handed, the other left-handed but the same bowler and same fielder. Lovely bowling and catching on display.
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Mohammed Shami (2/18) sent back opposition skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (4) and Dhananjaya de Silva (10). The former was cleaned up by a length ball that nipped back in while the latter was trapped lbw by one that jagged back from outside off. Rohit Sharma had to use the DRS to overturn the original decision of not out.
Axar Patel then joined the wicket-taking act as the visitors lost half their side for 50. The left-arm spinner dismissed an unsettled Charith Asalanka (5), who miscued one straight to mid-off. Angelo Mathews battled hard for his 43 but fell just before stumps, guiding a slower ball from Bumrah to second slip.
Superb Shreyas rescues India after batting collapse
Shreyas scored a brilliant 92 off 98 balls to help India post 252 in their first innings on Day 1 of the pink-ball Test. On an extremely challenging batting surface in Bengaluru, Shreyas decided that attack was the only option and ended up hitting 10 fours and four sixes. He deserved a hundred but was the last man out, searching for quick runs. The 27-year-old danced down to track to left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, but was beaten in the air and was stumped.
FIFTY!
A scintillating half-century for @ShreyasIyer15 and he brings it up with a maximum 👏👏
This is his 2nd in Test cricket.
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Apart from the in-form Shreyas, Rishabh Pant also played a crucial innings, striking 39 off 26 balls with the aid of seven fours before being cleaned up by Lasith Embuldeniya. Pant’s dismissal was followed by that of Ravindra Jadeja (4), who was caught at slip, also off the bowling of Embuldeniya. Jadeja’s dismissal left India in big trouble at 148 for 6. But Shreyas, with some support from the lower order, lifted India past the 250-run mark.
Shreyas kept attacking the bowling and reached a swift half-century. Ravichandran Ashwin held one end and added 35 with Shreyas before edging Dhananjaya de Silva to the keeper. Suranga Lakmal, playing in his last Test, then cleaned up Axar for 9. Shami (5) top-edged a catch off Jayawickrama before Shreyas’ wicket brought the innings to a close.
Innings Break!
Final wicket of @ShreyasIyer15 falls for 92 as #TeamIndia are all out for 252 in the first innings of the 2nd Test. This will also be the Dinner break.
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Earlier, India got off to a poor start as Mayank Agarwal was run-out for 4 in a bizarre manner. An appeal for lbw against the opener was turned down but Agarwal was involved in a mix-up with Rohit Sharma and was stranded well short of his crease. Agarwal would have felt aggrieved as he was run out off a no ball.
Rohit himself fell for 15, outside edging Embuldeniya behind the stumps. Virat Kohli and Hanuma Vihari added 47 for the third wicket but neither could convert starts. Vihari nicked Jayawickrama on 31 while Dhananjaya de Silva trapped Kohli lbw for 23. India were 86 for 4 when Kohli walked back but Shreyas and the bowlers ensured India ended Day 1 with the upper hand.