Shreyas Iyer scored a magnificent 92 as India were all out for 252 at the dinner break on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Iyer faced 98 deliveries while Jasprit Bumrah remained not out without scoring. The dinner break was taken once Iyer was dismissed.
The right-hander showed great skill and temperament in his knock on what was a challenging surface. There was sharp turn and variable bounce throughout but Iyer held firm and hit 10 fours and four sixes in his innings.
Here are reactions to his knock:
Great counterattacking batting from @ShreyasIyer15 on a track that was helping the spinners. His footwork was very good and because of that, he made batting look easy. #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/qI2CBFuWDg
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 12, 2022
Shreyas Iyer today... pic.twitter.com/qL3Fh4mFEW
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 12, 2022
Exclusive footage of @ShreyasIyer15's brilliant inns on a difficult pitch: #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/XUwLAi6Mld
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 12, 2022
Missed out on becoming the 3rd Indian cricket to score a hundred in a pink ball test after Virat Kohli and Smriti Mandhana.
— Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) March 12, 2022
Never the less, a brilliant innings from Shreyas.
The Bengaluru faithful walked in hoping for a Virat century. But he was undone by a ball that squatted even lower than my yoga instructor, and they ended up witnessing a masterclass in counter attacking cricket from Shreyas. This should be a fun match.
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) March 12, 2022
Alas, Iyer misses a century, but sensational knock. Strong intent and taking battle to the bowlers with amazing strokes. India innings folding up in two sessions highlights difficulty quotient for batting. Loose bowling by Sri Lanka conceding perhaps 65-70 runs too many
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 12, 2022
Highest individual scores for India in D/N Tests:
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) March 12, 2022
136 : Virat Kohli v Bangladesh, Kolkata, 2019
92 : Shreyas Iyer v Sri Lanka, Bangalore, 2022*
74 : Virat Kohli v Australia, Adelaide, 2020#INDvSL
Shreyas is down the pitch and stumped. Falls for 92. You might well say he deserved a hundred. But, irrespective, this is one of the best innings he has played in his life. Stunner. India end on 252.#INDvSL
— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) March 12, 2022
Got carried away in the end... a magnificent hundred missed, but superb knock nevertheless. Shreyas Iyer will remember this one! #IndvSL
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) March 12, 2022
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was the next highest contributor for India with a 26-ball 39 while Hanuma Vihari made 31. Virat Kohli was out for 23 just before the tea break while captain Rohit Sharma scored 15.
For Sri Lanka, Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama took three wickets apiece while Dhananjaya de Silva got two.
Earlier, India made one change, bringing in a fit-again Axar Patel in place of Jayant Yadav in the playing XI.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, were forced to make two changes with Kusal Mendis and Praveen Jayawickrama replacing Pathum Nissanka and Lahiru Kumara, who were ruled out due to injuries.
India won the first Test of the two-match series by an innings and 222 runs.
Inputs from PTI