IND vs SL: Rishabh Pant blasts India to advantage at the end of Day 1

The first test of Sri Lanka’s tour of India is taking place at the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali. The hosts won the toss and decide to bat. The Indian batsmen looked positive from the very beginning but whenever things looked to be getting easier for India, they kept losing wickets. The swashbuckling keeper-batsman from India came into bat after Virat Kohli’s dismissal at a team score of 170 for 3. 

With the match on balance, Rishabh Pant looked cautious at the beginning of his innings. He completed his half-century off 73 deliveries and after that changed gears. Rishabh scored the next 46 runs of his innings in just 24 deliveries, facing just two dot balls of the last 24 deliveries.

Pant’s brilliant innings came to an end of delivery by Suranga Lakmal that held its line. The star batsman was visibly disappointed as he fell short of his century by just 4 runs. Notably, this is the fifth time Pant has been dismissed in the nineties, among designated keepers only MS Dhoni has been dismissed as many times.

When Pant walked into bat the match was very evenly placed, and with the dismissal of Shreyas Iyer soon, Sri Lanka started to gain an upper hand. But the counterattack by Rishabh Pant changed the course and Indians were able to score 357 runs for the loss of 6 wickets at the end of the first day. While Sri Lankans would have taken the 6 wickets happily if asked at the beginning, but conceding 357 runs might have been a bit too expensive for their liking. 

Pant’s innings forced Sri Lanka to take the second new ball, although it ended his stay at the crease, this should be seen as another victory for India. Pant fell short of a personal milestone but that does not take away anything from the probable match-turning performance.