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Shreyas Iyer joins Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in elite list with 92-run knock in pink-ball Test vs Sri Lanka

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Mar 13, 2022, 01:30 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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Team India batter Shreyas Iyer joined the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in an elite list with his 92-run knock in the pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka.

Shreyas Iyer was the stand out performer for India in an otherwise disappointing performance from the hosts in their first innings on Day 1 of the ongoing pink-ball Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. On a track that was assisting the bowlers, Iyer emerged as the top scorer for India with a brilliant knock of 92 runs off just 98 balls.

After opting to bat first in the second Test against Sri Lanka, India's top order struggled against the pink ball as the uneven bounce on the pitch made it trickier for them. The likes of skipper Rohit Sharma (15), Mayank Agarwal (4), Virat Kohli (23) and Hanuma Vihari (31) all failed to make an impact.

India were left reeling at 86/4 in the 28th over when Iyer arrived in the middle and went on to play a gritty knock battling the tough conditions. He missed out on his century by just 8 runs but managed to help India post a fighting total of 252 runs on the board in their first innings.

With the help of his 92-run-knock, Iyer also joined the likes of Kohli and Rohit in an elite list as he became only the third Indian player to score a half-century in a pink-ball Test match for India. Kohli remains the only player with a century in a pink-ball game with Iyer now India's second-highest scorer in a day-night Test behind the former skipper.

Highest score by Indian players in pink-ball Tests:

136 - Virat Kohli vs Bangladesh 2019
92 - Shreyas Iyer vs Sri Lanka 2022
74 - Virat Kohli vs Australia 2020
66 - Rohit Sharma vs England 2021

Kohli's last century in international cricket was in the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in November 2019. The former India skipper has since struggled to reach the three-figure mark across formats. On Saturday, Kohli was dismissed by Sri Lankan spinner Dhananjaya de Silva on 23 in India's first innings of the pink-ball Test.

Riding on Iyer's 92 and Rishabh Pant's crucial knock of 39 runs off just 26 balls, India managed to cross the 250-run mark in their first innings on Saturday before the hosts wreaked havoc with the ball against Sri Lanka in their first innings.

The visitors lost wickets at regular intervals in their first innings as they were reduced to 86/6 at stumps on Day 2, trailing India's first-innings total by 166 runs.