Shreyas Iyer is progressing as a Test batsman. He is showing the required maturity at this stage. He may have missed his second Test century by eight runs in only his fourth appearance. However, his 92 aggressive runs on that pitch from the moment the spinners were included in the attack after seven overs of the Test were worth many more; Especially on the day when 16 wickets fell, India’s 252 runs equal to that total.
The pitch was initially covered with dust and the dry surface made batting difficult. Iyer decided attack was the best option and left-arm spin twins Praveen Jayavikrama and Lasith Embuldeniya went behind, even as they threatened to bowl India out for less than 150.
Entering the crease when Virat Kohli fell at 86/4, the 27-year-old Iyer attacked the opposition. Iyer assessed the pitch in a short but entertaining partnership of 40 runs in just 31 balls for the fifth wicket with Rishabh Pant.
He took lessons from Pant (39, 26 balls, 7×4), who went after the Sri Lankan spinners and played the only way he knew, that is, to attack. He survived the third ball as well, when Suranga Lakmal fielded in the deep and covered a considerable distance to leave a tough opportunity. Pant scored 75% as the fifth wicket partnership took the game away from Sri Lanka.
Iyer starred with a graceful drive through off-side of Embuldeniya. However, it was only in the last delivery that he played an inexplicable reverse hit and was lucky that the ball did nothing but miss the stumps. Iyer dealt a blow to the almost full home and outspoken M Chinnaswamy stadium crowd and made them wonder why make a foolish effort when he can produce some beautiful shots.
Iyer, who batted below Pant in Mohali and here, put up a stellar performance in the lower half. If Ravindra Jadeja in Mohali and a scintillating 175 not out with Poonch had batted for an unbeaten 175, it was Iyer here in Bengaluru on Saturday.
He didn’t need a second invitation to submit the bad delivery to the fence. He also converted some good balls and flung them over the boundary before he could do anything off the pitch, managing to do so four times in addition to 10 boundaries along the ground.
On a tough pitch that is definitely result oriented, Iyer was brilliant. Saturday may have been the first day with India winning the toss and electing to bat, but it looked like a pitch on which a lot was played, like on the third or fourth day.
Therefore, in terms of the condition of the pitch, Iyer’s innings was more than 92 runs. He himself knew the value of his innings that soon after reaching his half-century, he celebrated by removing his helmet and raising his arms, something that usually happens when a batsman reaches triple digits. Usually when it reaches fifty, it is only the rise of the bat.
Even as the spinners went about removing the aides of Embuldeniya, Jayawickrama and de Silva Iyer, Iyer was his usual flair. When Shami and Bumrah were supporting him, he kept number 10 and 11 safe, taking most of the strike in the overs and refusing singles in the overs. Sri Lankan field placing also helped his cause as the field was wide, allowing him to take a single off the fifth or sixth ball of the over to maintain his strike.
Iyer was on 60 when Axar Patel was the eighth Indian wicket to fall. He gave everyone hope of reaching a scintillating century and certainly wanted to step out and end things in a hurry, before another bad habit of his that led to his downfall. He was two hits away from a remarkable century, but danced under the wicket for too long against Jayawickrama and was easily stumped by Niroshan Dickwella.
But thanks to Iyer’s aggressive innings, India could not reach 150. The credit for taking India to 252 goes to him alone, which should be enough for them to win another.
While the Sri Lankan spinners took eight of the 10 Indian wickets, the Indian pacers found early breakthroughs to post 14 for three in the sixth over and 28 for four in the 12th. Shami and Bumrah took two wickets each. As the day ended, the pacers took five of Sri Lanka’s six wickets.
Axar Patel, who was the only change in India’s 11 won by an innings and 222 runs in Mohali last week, was coming in for Jayant Yadav, becoming the first India spinner to strike under the lights.
While Iyer showed that attack was the best form of defence, especially when the pitch was not good for batting, senior Sri Lankan batsman Angelo Mathews took a similar approach against the Indian spinners. He didn’t hesitate to hit sixes at the slightest opportunity and played some fine strokes to keep Sri Lanka afloat. Even Charit Aslanka tried a similar approach, but in his attempt to go behind the bowling, Patel handed Ashwin a simple catch at mid-off.
Iyer, with his punishing innings and regular strike by the Indian bowlers, put India clearly in the driver’s seat and handed the hosts another victory.
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