Pant blazes as India set Sri Lanka daunting chase

Bengaluru: Sri Lanka were 28/1 at stumps on Day 2 and needed 419 runs to beat India in the second and final Test (pink ball game) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Sunday.

Resuming their second innings from 199/5 after the dinner break, India added 104 more runs in the third session before declaring on 303-9 in the second innings and setting a target of 447 runs for Sri Lanka to win.

Shreyas Iyer top-scored for India 67 while Rishabh Pant brought up the fastest Test fifty by an Indian off just 28 balls. On the other hand, spinner Praveen Jayawickrama was Sri Lanka's highest wicket-taker with 4-78 while Lasith Embuldeniya picked three wickets (3/87).

Chasing a target of 447 runs to win, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne (0) in the very first over of the innings bowled by Jasprit Bumrah.

However, Kusal Mendis (16 not out) and Dimuth Karunaratne (10 not out) played out the rest of the overs of the day and didn't let India pick any wicket further.

Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka could add only 23 runs more to their overnight score as Jasprit Bumrah took a historic five-for (5/24) to help India bowl out the visitors for 109 in their first innings. It was Sri Lanka's second-lowest total (109) in Tests against India, with the previous being 82 all out in Chandigarh in 1990.

Brief scores: India 252 & 303-9 decl in 68.5 overs (Rishabh Pant 50, Shreyas Iyer 67; Rohit Sharma 46; Praveen Jayawickrama 4/78, Lasith Embuldeniya 3/87) vs Sri Lanka 109 & 28/1 in 7 overs (Kusal Mendis 16 not out, Dimuth Karunaratne 10 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 1/9) lead by 419 runs.

Also read: Pant smashes fastest Test fifty by an Indian batter

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