Shreyas Iyer starred with the bat for India on Day 1 of the pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday (March 12).

Opting to bat first, the hosts were reeling at 86/4 on a turning track when Iyer arrived in the middle. Amid the pressure situation, he attacked the Sri Lankan bowlers from the outset and completed his half-century off 54 balls.

Although India kept losing wickets at regular intervals, Shreyas held the one end firmly and forged vital partnerships with the tail-enders to take India’s first innings total to 252/10.

Shreyas Iyer was the last man to be dismissed on 92. His 98-ball knock was studded with 10 fours and 4 sixes.

For his swashbuckling under pressure on a difficult surface, Iyer received ultimate praise from the Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Taking to Twitter, Tendulkar wrote: “Great counterattacking batting from @ShreyasIyer15 on a track that was helping the spinners. His footwork was very good and because of that, he made batting look easy.”