Pant steals show on Day 1 of Kohli's 100th Test

Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Mohali on Friday, March 4, 2022.

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Rishabh Pant stole the limelight in Virat Kohli's landmark 100th Test, hammering Sri Lanka's bowlers into submission in an enthralling 96 as India put up a commanding 357 for 6 on Day 1 of the first Test in Mohali on Friday.

The 5,000-odd spectators at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, who had come to watch Kohli perform on a grand stage, saw Pant, 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 an over.

The deathly silence around the stadium after Kohli's exit for a well-compiled 45 was there for barely a few seconds because then entered the stocky 24 year old from India's engineering city of Roorkee.

Pant's arrival to the crease was followed by a deafening roar that showed his popularity. On Kohli's day, he had completely over-shadowed the legend.

Those who came to watch 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, did not know what hit him.

In just over one-and-a-half sessions, Pant nearly registered his fourth hundred in Test cricket only for veteran Suranga Lakmal (1/63), in his last international series, to breach 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 got out in the 90s.

The walk back to the pavilion took an eternity, as it seemed that one would need someone to drag him out.

But Coach Rahul Dravid and Skipper Rohit Sharma's decision to send Pant at number five to bring in the left-hander's advantage against a left-arm spinner, paid the rich dividend they were hoping for.

Embuldeniya did not 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.

Being a southpaw obviously diminished Pant's advantage to an extent and then his decision to stand at least a couple of yards outside the crease made the difference.

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.

The one-handed sixes, which he can now hit on public demand, were in full display for the motley crowd.

The Indian team's former strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu, in an interview during the 2019 World Cup, had claimed that when it came to raw physical power, Mahendra Singh Dhoni ranked No 1, but Pant was a close second.

To hit a five and half ounce cricket ball into the second tier of a cricket stadium nearly 90 yards away requires brute strength and Pant showed that he possesses that in abundance. Add to it, his balance and nimble footwork.

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.

Once a fielding side skipper stations a deep point, deep square leg and deep fine leg within the first hour of the first day, one can get a sense that he has already thrown in the towel and playing a waiting game of cutting down boundaries.

Even then, Pant found the gaps with very little difficulty when he took guard in the 44th over after Kohli and Hanuma Vihari (58 off 128 balls) had a 90-run stand.

Vihari made good use of his chance in place of veteran Cheteshwar Pujara and looked in control during his stand with Kohli before he inside-edged Vishwa Fernando's delivery onto the stumps.

It was a perfect setting to score a second Test hundred, but Vihari let it slip and became Fernando's only scalp of the day.

A total of 170 for 3 is a neither here nor there and a lot of batters would be caught in two minds -- whether to defend or to attack.

But not Pant. With him, there are no half measures and if any critic had an iota of difficulty in understanding why Dravid had a hard conversation with Wriddhiman Saha regarding his future, Friday's matinee show should help in dispelling all doubts.

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 sweat.

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