Shreyas Iyer becomes first Indian to achieve rare feat with twin half-centuries in pink-ball Test vs Sri Lanka

Star batter Shreyas Iyer continued his magnificent run in India's second innings of the ongoing pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. Iyer slammed back-to-back half-centuries in both innings of the Test match to become the first Indian to achieve a rare feat in a pink-ball game.

After slamming a brilliant knock of 92 runs in India's first innings, Iyer followed it up with another half-century in their second innings on Day 2 of the Test match. The in-form batter scored a quickfire 67 off 87 deliveries as he helped India post a total of 303/9 (declared) in their second innings to hand Sri Lanka a target of 447 runs.

With his twin half-centuries in the two innings, Iyer achieved a rare feat as he became the first Indian batter to score a half-century in both innings of a pink-ball Test match. He also became only the fourth player in the world after the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to achieve the rare feat.

Players with two half-centuries in a pink-ball Test:

Darren Bravo v Pakistan, Dubai, 2016
Steve Smith v Pakistan, Brisbane, 2016
M Labuschagne v New Zealand, Perth, 2019
M Labuschagne v England, Adelaide, 2021
Shreyas Iyer v Sri Lanka, Bengaluru, 2022

Also Read: WATCH: Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli win hearts with their gesture for Suranga Lakmal during pink-ball Test 

After bundling out Sri Lanka for a platry 109 runs in their first innings to amass a healthy lead of 143 runs, Indian batters produced an improved show in their second innings. While skipper Rohit Sharma (46) and Hanuma Vihari (35) contributed with vital knocks, Pant and Iyer slammed half-centuries apiece.

India declared their second innings on 303/9 before inviting Sri Lanka to chase 447 runs in their second innings. The hosts are in a strong position in the Test match and need just nine wickets with three days to play to win the game and register a 2-0 clean sweep.