Shreyas calls the shots as India takes control of Pink ball Test

His 98-ball 92 guides the host to 252; the bowlers, led by Bumrah, restrict Sri Lanka to 86 for six on a pitch offering uneven bounce and prodigious turn

Shreyas Iyer’s superb counter-attacking 92 (98b, 10x4, 4x6) helped India establish a stranglehold on the second Test against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

On a pitch that offered uneven bounce and prodigious turn as early as the first hour — not a pleasant sight for a neutral — Shreyas scored at breakneck speed to carry India to 252.

By stumps, the Mumbai batter’s effort had acquired a match-winning halo around it, with the visitors reduced to 86 for six. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami made the pink ball talk under lights, scalping five of the six wickets to fall.

Earlier in the afternoon, Rohit Sharma elected to bat on what he called a “very dry pitch.” But the start was less than ideal, with both Mayank Agarwal and Rohit out with just 29 on the board. Mayank self-destructed, running himself out by going for a non-existent single off what turned out to be a no-ball.

Hanuma Vihari (31, 81b, 4x4) and Virat Kohli (23, 48b, 2x4) combined for a solid 47-run third-wicket partnership. But left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama outwitted Vihari, drawing him forward and finding the edge that wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella lapped up. Rishabh Pant (39, 26b, 7x4) was lucky not to be dismissed off the third ball he faced, dropped by Suranga Lakmal at deep mid-wicket while trying to clear Jayawickrama.

In the next over, Dimuth Karunaratne introduced off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva and the latter struck gold immediately, trapping Kohli in front with a ball that turned sharply and kept low.

Post-tea, Pant hit a flurry of fours but was bowled trying to cut a delivery from Lasith Embuldeniya that was neither short nor wide. Ravindra Jadeja, the first Test hero, fell cheaply, caught in the slips for four.