IND vs SL: Team India players give guard of honour to Virat Kohli in Mohali
India are dominating the first of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Mohali. The Test match is special with it being Virat Kohli‘s 100th in the format. The former India skipper was felicitated by the BCCI before the start of the match as well. Head coach Rahul Dravid spoke highly of Kohli before handing him the 100th commemorative cap and a memento.
The 33-year-old couldn’t make the milestone game memorable for himself with the bat scoring 45 runs before being castled by Lasith Embuldeniya. However, India’s new all-format skipper Rohit Sharma made it even more memorable for his predecessor as he and the rest of the team lined up to give a guard of honour to Virat Kohli.
This happened just before the start of the final session’s play on the second day in the ongoing Mohali Test. Kohli didn’t seem to be expecting it and sheepishly had his hand up while walking inside the ground and thanking his teammates for the same.
Here’s the video:
India declare at 574/8 in first innings
As for the match, India posted a massive total on the board after opting to bat first. Ravindra Jadeja was the star remaining unbeaten on 175, his best Test score, before the innings was declared on 574/8. It felt as if he was given a chance to make his double hundred but eventually, Rohit Sharma decided to declare taking into consideration the time required to bundle out Sri Lanka twice.
Apart from Jadeja, Rishabh Pant batted superbly for his 96. He missed out on his fifth Test ton with Suranga Lakmal castling him late on Day 1. Hanuma Vihari also shone with the bat replacing Cheteshwar Pujara at number three in the line-up. With the pitch being extremely good to bat on, India will be keen on getting early breakthroughs. Role of the spin trio of Ravi Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant Yadav will be crucial for the hosts.