IND vs SL 2022 | Shreyas Iyer becomes the first Indian to score half-centuries in both innings of a Test

India are up against Sri Lanka in the second Test of a two-match series. The first Test was won by hosts and they are dominating the second fixture as well. Sri Lanka need 419 runs more to win and they have nine wickets in hand. For India, Shreyas Iyer has been the outstanding performer in the match so far as he scored fifties in both the innings. In the first innings, he scored 92 runs, missing the century by a small margin. In the second innings, the right-handed batter played a knock of 67 runs. 

In the process, he became the first Indian cricketer to score half-centuries in both innings of a Test. Overall, he is the fourth cricketer to score fifty or more in both innings of a Test match. West Indies cricketer Darren Bravo (87 & 116 against Pakistan in Dubai, 2016) and Australia's Steve Smith (130 & 63 against Pakistan in Brisbane are other cricketers to do so. Marnus Labuschagne has achieved the feat twice in his career, 143 & 50 against New Zealand in the 2019 Perth Test and 103 & 51 against England in Adelaide last year. 

Shreyas revealed that the fifty on the surface felt like a century to him and also admitted that it was very difficult to play on this pitch. 

"I personally felt that fifty was like a century. That's why I celebrated like that. It was like a century feeling for me,” he said after the day's play.

"You saw the players who defended the ball, there was a lot of chance of nicking, and there was variable bounce on that wicket. You can't just play very negatively on that wicket and just keep defending the ball. You've got to have that positive intent when you step out on the field. The wicket is not that great. It's obviously bowler-friendly."