On Kohli’s day, Pant overshadows legend

NT Correspondent

I ndian cricket’s rapidly-rising boxoffice draw Rishabh Pant owned the center-stage in Virat Kohli’s landmark 100th Test, hammering Sri Lankan bowlers into submission with an enthralling 96 as the hosts reached a commanding 357 for 6 on the opening day of the first Test here.

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. 

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.

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.

But coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma’s decision to send him at number five to bring in the lefthander’s advantage against a left-arm spinner, had paid the rich dividends they were hoping for.

Embuldeniya didn’t actually bowl as badly as his figures might suggest and was pitching the ball up, putting his body into the deliveries and getting them to spin away from the right handers.

He turned a lot of good length deliveries into over-pitched ones and Embuldeniya, along with other spinners like Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva (1/47), also suffered.

It also helped that Dimuth Karunaratne’s mindset was defensive from the word go since Rohit Sharma (29) and Mayank Agarwal (33) had a brisk 50-run stand.

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.

Scorecard
India 1st Innings 357/6 
Mayank Agarwal lbw b Embuldeniya 33
Rohit Sharma c Lakmal b Kumara 29
Hanuma Vihari b Fernando 58
Virat Kohli b Embuldeniya 45
Rishabh Pant b Lakmal 96
Shreyas Iyer lbw b de Silva 27
Ravindra Jadeja not out 45
Ravichandran Ashwin not out 10
Extras: (lb 5, nb 9) 14
Total: (85 Ov, RR: 4.20) 357/6
Fall of wickets: 1-52 , 2-80, 3-170, 4-175, 5-228, 6-332.
Bowling: Suranga Lakmal 16-1-63-1 , Vishwa Fernando 16-1-69-1, Lahiru Kumara 10.5- 1-52-1, Lasith Embuldeniya 28-2-107-2, Dhananjaya de Silva 11-1-47-1, Charith Asalanka 3.1-0-14-0.