Pant was dismissed for 96 in 97 deliveries by Suranga Lakmal in the final hour of the opening day.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Friday reserved his highest praise for young India batsman Rishabh Pant, calling him "the greatest modern entertainer" after he smashed sixes against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series in Mohali. Pant was eventually dismissed for 96 in the final session of the opening day.
After Shreyas Iyer's dismissal after tea, Pant switched to T20 mode, hitting four sixes and nine fours against Sri Lanka on the verge of his fifth century in Tests and the fastest to former India captain MS Dhoni. Got a chance to break Test records. Century by an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman.
He was dismissed for 96 in 97 balls by Suranga Lakmal in the last hour of the first day.
Absolutely love watching @RishabhPant17!! A player you can't love.. don't want to miss the ball he faces.. don't know what's going on his head.. but it's always a must watch.. i think he is the greatest modern The player is an entertainer, Vaughan tweeted moments before his dismissal.
Absolutely love watching @RishabhPant17 !! A player who you can’t love .. don’t want to miss a ball he faces .. no idea what’s going on his head .. but it’s always a must watch .. I reckon he is the greatest modern day player entertainer ., #INDvSL
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 4, 2022
Pant's 96 was the second half-century by an Indian batsman in the first innings along with India's new No. 3 batsman, Hanuma Vihari, scoring 58 in 128. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, who is playing his 100th Test match for India, made him. ranked 12th by country, finished with 45 out of 76.
India ended the first day with 357 for 6, with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin batting on 45* and 10* respectively.
Lasith Embuldeniya took two wickets for 107 runs in 28 overs, including the dismissal of Kohli.