IND vs SL, 1st Test, Day 1: Rishabh Pant shines in Virat Kohli’s 100th Test

Rishabh Pant grabbed the limelight in Virat
Kohli’s 100th Test at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali on Friday.
Hammering Sri Lankan bowlers, Pant played an enthralling 96 as the hosts
reached a commanding 357 for 6 on the opening day of the first Test between
India and Sri Lanka.

Also Read: Ind vs SL, 1st Test: Twitter user predicts Kohli’s dismissal before match

The 5000 odd spectators, who had come to
watch Kohli perform on a grand stage, saw one of the most flamboyant batters in
recent history make a mockery of an average Sri Lankan attack.

He was especially brutal when it came to
going after left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya (28-2-107-2), who was taken for
22 in one over.

The deathly silence after Kohli’s shock
exit for a well-made 45 was there for barely a second and half. Because at that
point entered the stockily built 24-year-old from India’s engineering city of
Rourkee and that was followed by a deafening roar which showed his popularity.

Also Read: India prep for first Test under Rohit Sharma; middle-order woes in focus

On Kohli’s day, he had completely
over-shadowed the legend.

And those who came for Kohli, decided to
stay back and savour Pant’s mayhem as he started with a signature lofted six
off Embuldeniya over mid-wicket fence.

Embuldeniya, who must have felt emboldened
when he got one to turn a shade away and tickle Kohli’s off-stump, didn’t know
what hit him.

In just over one and half session, Pant
nearly reached his fourth hundred in Test cricket before veteran Suranga Lakmal
(1/63), in his last international series, breached his defence.

Also Read: ‘I honestly never thought I will play 100 Test matches’: Virat Kohli

There were nine fours and four sixes in his
97-ball knock and one couldn’t but feel for the young man who looked completely
devastated after another near-miss, the fifth time that he has gotten out in
the 90s.

Pant found the gaps with very
little difficulty when he took guard in the 44th over after Kohli and Hanuma
Vihari (58 off 128 balls) had a 90-run stand.

Vihari made good use of his chance in place
of veteran Cheteshwar Pujara and looked in control during his stand with Kohli
before he inside edged Vishwa Fernando’s delivery onto the stumps.

Also Read: Virat Kohli’s 100th Test match: 5 Test records held by Kohli

It was a perfect setting to score a second
Test hundred but Vihari let it slip and became Fernando’s only scalp of the
day.

A total of 170 for 3 is a neither here nor
there and a lot of batters will be caught in two minds — whether to defend or
to attack.

But not Pant. With him, there are no half
measures and if any critic had an iota of difficulty in understanding why
Dravid had a hard conversation with Wriddhiman Saha regarding his future,
Friday’s matinee show should help in dispelling all doubts.

Also Read: Dinesh Karthik recalls Virat Kohli’s legacy in Test cricket

The Indian team needs players, who can move
the game in tricky situations and among the post Kohli-Rohit generation, Pant
is an assured match-winner, who can open the game in a session.

Scoring 350 plus runs in a day’s play is
always bad news for the bowling team and as of now, it seems India will walk
away with 12 World Test Championship points without breaking a lot of sweat.