Pujara calls Pant's 66 off 69 an outstanding knock under pressure in 1st Test vs Sri Lanka

Rishabh Pant produced a second-innings knock of 66 off 69 balls in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle on August 18, helping India post 193 and set the hosts a 372-run target. The innings included four boundaries and a pair of maximums, and it drew warm praise from former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara.

India had scored 462 in their first innings while Sri Lanka were dismissed for 284, handing India a first-innings lead of 178 runs. The 193 added in the second innings extended that advantage into a 372-run target for Sri Lanka to chase.

"Although it might be 60-odd runs, I think it was an outstanding knock considering the situation. There was slight pressure on him. He is not performing in white-ball cricket. He isn't part of India's ODI and T20I squads. He is playing only the Test format at the moment. Even in the IPL, he hasn't been performing that well. So your confidence as a batter goes down slightly. You feel a little pressure at that stage. Playing such an innings despite that pressure needs to be praised. That's why Rishabh Pant should be in the Test squad," Pujara said on the Sony Sports Network live coverage.

Pujara identified shot selection as the clearest improvement between Pant's two innings in the match. In the first innings, Pant was dismissed while attempting a big shot off Keshara Nuwantha with the second new ball, a lapse that Pujara contrasted sharply with the discipline shown later.

"The thing I liked the most was that he batted sensibly. He has to play attackingly, that's his natural game, but along with that, he defended when required. He played shots when the fast bowlers came. He was using the sweep and reverse sweep against the off-spinner. Those are excellent shots. He was stepping out and trying to hit over mid-on and mid-off in the first innings. He didn't try that today. He was playing pull shots and over mid-off against the fast bowlers. That's his strength. So he batted to his strengths. He improved his shot selection," Pujara said.

Pant's 66 was the highest individual score in India's second innings of 193. Devdutt Padikkal followed up his 167 in the first innings with a composed 44 off 75 balls, and KL Rahul made 35 off 47 balls as the other notable contributors in that innings. The knock also carried a personal milestone for Pant. He became the first Indian and fourth overall batter to reach 100 sixes in Test cricket during his innings, achieving the landmark in 4,918 balls, the fewest balls any batter has needed to reach that mark.

Sri Lanka ended Day 4 at 84 for 4 in their second innings, still requiring 288 more runs to win with six wickets remaining. India will look to wrap up the match on Day 5.