'No idea what’s going on, but always a must watch': England legend hails Pant as 'greatest modern day entertainer'

Pant was dismissed for 96 in 97 deliveries by Suranga Lakmal in the final hour of the opening day.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Friday reserved his highest praise for young India batter Rishabh Pant, calling him the “greatest modern day entertainer” following his flurry of sixes against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series in Mohali. Pant was eventually dismissed for 96 in the final session of the opening day.

India batter Rishabh Pant hits a six during the 1st day of the cricket test match between India and Sri Lanka at IS Bindra PCA Stadium, in Mohali (PTI)

Following the dismissal of Shreyas Iyer after Tea, Pant changed to T20 mode, hitting four sixes and nine boundaries against Sri Lanka to stand on the verge of his fifth century in Tests and stood a chance to break former India captain MS Dhoni's record of fastest Test century by an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman.

He was dismissed for 96 in 97 deliveries by Suranga Lakmal in the final hour of the opening day.

“Absolutely love watching @RishabhPant17!! A player who you can’t love .. don’t want to miss a ball he faces .. no idea what’s going on his head .. but it’s always a must watch .. I reckon he is the greatest modern day player entertainer," tweeted Vaughan moments before his dismissal.

Pant's 96 was the second half-century score by an Indian batter in the first innings with Hanuma Viahri, India's new No.3 batter, scoring 58 off 128. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, who is playing his 100th Test match for India making him the 12th from the nation to the feat, finished with 45 off 76.

India finished Day 1 with 357 for 6 with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin batting on 45* and 10* respectively.

Lasith Embuldeniya picked two wickets, including the dismissal of Kohli, for 107 runs in 28 overs.