Virat Kohli, who was playing in his 100th Test match, was presented with a special cap by coach Rahul Dravid.
India were perched firmly on top at the end of the first day’s play of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Mohali, finishing with a score of 357/6 at Stumps. All the Indian batsmen got starts on a good batting wicket but none of them could convert it into three figures, with dynamite wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant coming the closest, playing a scintillating knock of 96 before being knocked over by the soon-to-retire Suranga Lakmal.
The build-up to the game was very special, with a modern-day icon, Virat Kohli, playing his 100th Test match for India. A tremendous ambassador of the game, and Test cricket in particular, Virat Kohli was the centre of attention before, and during the game as well. The BCCI had organised a small felicitation ceremony, where Kohli was presented with a commemorative cap on a fabulous achievement, which was presented to him by Rahul Dravid, who also spoke fondly of the champion player.
India’s new skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss, and elected to bat on a good batting wicket at the PCA stadium in Mohali. Opening the batting with Karnataka man Mayank Agarwal, who was recently announced as the captain for the Punjab Kings, Sharma along with Agarwal engineered a brisk start, as the duo got the runs flowing thick and fast. After adding 50 runs in just above nine overs, Rohit Sharma was the first to go, falling prey to a well-conceived plan by the Sri Lankan bowlers, holing out to fine leg, and giving pacer Lahiru Kumara his first breakthrough.
In at number three, Hanuma Vihari looked largely in control from ball one, and added a few runs with Agarwal before the latter was dismissed. Much to the crowd’s delight, out walked King Kohli in his 100th Test match. Kohli and Vihari rebuilt the Indian innings spectacularly after a brief hiccup, and added 90 runs for the third wicket, before Laith Embuldeniya, who had had a good day with the ball, beat Kohli’s outside edge, and knocked over his off stump, much to the disbelief of the great man. An extremely promising knock, filled with class, Kohli had to walk back to the pavilion for 45, meaning that the agonising wait for a century had to continue.
Vihari too did not survive for much longer, throwing his wicket away after an excellent start, as he chopped on a Vishwa Fernando delivery on to his stumps, ending his fine knock of 58 in untimely fashion. However, India were still in a commanding position with wickets in hand, but the scales looked as if they could tilt at any time.
Shreyas Iyer and the promoted Rishabh Pant then added 53 runs for the fifth wicket in a reasonable time frame, before Iyer’s dismissal. It was at this point that Rishabh Pant cut loose, as he and Ravindra Jadeja accelerated the scoring rate. Pant, especially after reaching the 50-run mark, went absolutely berserk, adding the next 45 runs in just 20 balls, putting on a show for those in attendance at Mohali. Pant struck nine boundaries and four huge sixes in a terrific innings to put India firmly ahead as Stumps approached on Day 1 of the first Test. Pant looked destined for a hundred, but was undone by a scrambled seam delivery by Suranga Lakmal, barely balls after the second new ball was taken by the Sri Lankan side. Pant was visibly distraught, and trudged back in to the pavilion with a dejected expression on his face. A knock of that quality did deserve a century, but the lapse in concentration led to his downfall.
India’s premier all-rounder duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin dealt with the Sri Lankan bowlers until stumps, as India finished Day 1 firmly on top, with a score of 357/6. However, there were only 85 overs bowled on the day, thanks to some slow over-rates by the Sri Lankan bowlers. If India can build on the first day’s play, things could get ugly for Sri Lanka on the subsequent days.
