Rishabh Pant produced another explosive innings and rewrote the Test record books Tuesday as India set Sri Lanka 372 runs to win the opening match of the two-Test series in Galle.
India were dismissed for 193 in their second innings, giving Sri Lanka a daunting chase after the visitors had taken a 178-run first-innings lead. With the pitch offering increasing turn and four sessions remaining, India moved into a commanding position as they looked to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The target is particularly imposing at Galle, where the highest successful fourth-innings chase is Pakistan's 344 against Sri Lanka in 2022.
Pant was at the center of India's push, attacking the Sri Lankan bowlers during a 66 off 69 balls that included eight fours and two sixes. His aggressive approach not only strengthened India's position but also made him the fastest batter to reach 100 sixes in Test cricket.
The India wicketkeeper reached the milestone in his 89th innings, comfortably surpassing Australia's Adam Gilchrist, who needed 130 innings to hit 100 Test sixes. Pant also reached the mark in fewer balls and matches than anyone before him, doing so in 4,918 deliveries and his 51st Test.
Pant had entered the match with 97 Test sixes. He matched Chris Gayle's tally of 98 in the first innings before completing his century of sixes in the second innings with a trademark pull over fine leg against Lahiru Kumara.
The milestone further underlined Pant's unusual power in the longest format. He is now level with Gilchrist on 100 Test sixes, behind only Ben Stokes on 138 and Brendon McCullum on 107 on the overall list. Among Indian batters, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma are next with 91 sixes each.
Pant's innings came after India had made a solid start despite losing Yashasvi Jaiswal for a third-ball duck in the opening over. Devdutt Padikkal, who had struck a career-best 167 in the first innings, responded with 44 in the second and shared a 65-run partnership with KL Rahul.
Rahul made 35 and struck two sixes before falling while attempting another aggressive shot against left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya. Captain Shubman Gill contributed only eight before Jayasuriya trapped him lbw, while Padikkal was later dismissed lbw by debutant off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha.
Sri Lanka kept taking wickets at regular intervals, with Asitha Fernando leading the attack. The fast bowler finished with 4-31, while Jayasuriya claimed three wickets and Lahiru Kumara took two.
But Pant's counterattack ensured India remained firmly in control despite the wickets around him. Fernando eventually ended the innings late in the second session, and the players went to tea with Sri Lanka facing the daunting target.
Sri Lanka's challenge was made more difficult by the loss of Dinesh Chandimal. The batter was injured while fielding when he dived in an attempt to stop a boundary and landed heavily. He was taken to hospital for precautionary scans, which showed no internal injury, but he failed concussion protocols and was ruled out for the remainder of the match.
Uncapped Pasindu Sooriyabandara was subsequently named Sri Lanka's concussion substitute and made his Test debut.
India had earlier established control with 462 in their first innings, led by Padikkal's 167 and Rahul's 82, with Dhruv Jurel adding 51. Sri Lanka initially struggled in reply, falling to 90-5 before Sonal Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella rescued the innings.
Dinusha scored 100 and Dickwella made 80 as they put together a 146-run sixth-wicket partnership, allowing Sri Lanka to reach 284. India then completed the job with their spin attack, as Manav Suthar claimed 4-76 and Ravindra Jadeja took 3-57 to secure the 178-run advantage.
That advantage has now been transformed into a 372-run target, leaving Sri Lanka with a formidable task on a surface increasingly helping the spinners.
