Table of Contents
Stunning bowling, decent batting and spectacular fielding were all on display by Team India on the opening day of the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Opting to bat first, the hosts were completely taken aback by the nature of the pitch, which was a rank turner from the word go. India lost Mayank Agarwal early after the local lad met an unfortunate run-out with captain Rohit Sharma at the other end.
The turning track helped Lankan bowlers to make their impact visible, with eight Indian batters falling in front of spin. However, Shreyas Iyer stood tall against the visitors and took the tweakers to the cleaners.
Iyer smashed a blistering 92 from 98 deliveries with the help of 14 boundaries, including four humungous sixes. Rishabh Pant (39 off 26) and Hanuma Vihari (31 off 81) were the only other batters who could cross the 30-run mark.
For the tourists, Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama picked up three wickets each but at a dreadful economy of 3.90 and 4.70, respectively. Batting all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva (2/32) also bagged a couple of scalps, including the wicket of Virat Kohli (23).
After the incredible display by Sri Lanka’s spinner, it was expected that Indian tweakers would dominate the proceedings. However, Indian pacers had some other plans as Sri Lanka lost six wickets before the end of the day’s play, out of which speedsters took five scalps.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami absolutely destroyed the Islanders with a display of high-quality bowling. While Bumrah picked up three wickets for 15 runs in 7 overs, Shami bagged a couple for 18 runs in 6 overs. Axar Patel also took one wicket while giving away 21 runs in five overs. At stumps, the visitors managed to reach 86/6 in 30 overs, trailing India by 166 runs.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
That's STUMPS on Day 1 of the 2nd Test.
Sri Lanka 86/6, trail #TeamIndia (252) by 166 runs.
Scorecard – https://t.co/t74OLq7xoO #INDvSL @Paytm pic.twitter.com/Xehkffunwn
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 12, 2022
It is always a better option to attack or have an aggressive mindset to score runs on difficult wickets. Exactly, how Shreyas Iyer did. Superb knock 👏👏 #ShreyasIyer #INDvSL #TeamIndia
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) March 12, 2022
🇮🇳 252
🇱🇰 86/616 wickets fell on the opening day of the second Test in Bengaluru.
Scorecard 📝: https://t.co/YXjgkrtKTZ#INDvSL pic.twitter.com/t9FD3UDuxF
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) March 12, 2022
Shreyas Iyer and unremitting self belief. He never seems to lose that belief in his own methods.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) March 12, 2022
Different cricket match under lights. India seem to have timed the end of their innings perfectly.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 12, 2022
16 wickets fell on the opening day of the pink-ball Test in Bangalore 👀#WTC23 | #INDvSL | https://t.co/z8k3qDsu6u pic.twitter.com/KcJjkTYyP3
— ICC (@ICC) March 12, 2022
Shreyas Iyer is blooming. He'll keep going. He's absolutely sure where he wants to head.
Today was yet another indicator.
— KSR (@KShriniwasRao) March 12, 2022
🇮🇳🔥 DOMINATION! We have the upper hand at the end of day 1️⃣ as more than half of the Lankan lineup is back in the dugout!
🙌 Let's bowl them out tomorrow, boys!
📸 BCCI • #INDvSL #INDvsSL #TeamIndia #BharatArmy #COTI🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/sEijhLdkz8
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) March 12, 2022
And that's 𝕊𝕋𝕌𝕄ℙ𝕊 on Day 1️⃣!
After Shreyas Iyer's 92, the 🇮🇳 bowlers have reduced 🇱🇰 to 86/6 in an exhilarating day of cricket. 👊
How much will Sri Lanka make tomorrow, Paltan? 🤔#OneFamily #INDvSL
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 12, 2022
There is a reason why I keep saying that Shreyas Iyer is India's most destructive traditional spin hitter.
— Alagappan Vijayakumar (@IndianMourinho) March 12, 2022
16 wickets on Day 1 – Sri Lanka trailing by 166 runs in the first innings – star of the day was Shreyas Iyer with 92, helped India to post 252 runs in the first innings and Bumrah took 3 wickets.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 12, 2022
16 wickets fell on Day 1, and yes, the pitch had some juice, but poor shot selection was the downfall of many batsmen today
SL limp to 86-6 #INDvSL
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) March 12, 2022