India, Aug. 18 -- It wasn't a delivery that took Rishabh Pant by surprise. In fact, when the short ball from Lahiru Kumara-bowling the 39th over-climbed on him, Pant calmly wore the bouncer on his back, waited for the umpire to call it a dead ball and simply reset himself.

Next delivery, short again. This time Pant swivelled inside its line to pull it fine for a boundary. Next ball was back of the length, prompting Pant to switch from trying to pull and instead run the ball towards third man. Instead, the ball grazed the face of his bat to balloon over the fielder running back from gully, leaving Kumara seething with frustration.

It was the kind of exchange that explained why India had suddenly found a way through a Sri Lankan attack th...