It would have been a perfect start for debutant wicket-keeper batsman Dhruv Jurel to have scored a fifty in his maiden innings, but that was not be, as he fell to Rehan Ahmed for 46, on the second day of third Test in Rajkot. Coming out to bat when India had just lost Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, with the score reading 331/7, Jurel put in the hard yards, to take the team beyond 400.
His innings included two fours and three sixes, but it was a little more than the boundaries he got. Not a perfect innings by any measure — Jurel was dropped by Ollie Pope at mid-wicket — he found ways to keep the scoreboard ticking. His defence against veteran James Anderson & Mark Wood was solid, and look assured against spin, on a track that was turning and keeping low.
Jurel, Gives Wind to the Tail
India could have very well folded under 350, if not for Jurel and Ashwin. But the way the youngster batted, gave the latter the license to play freely. Or else it would have been a different story for the hosts, on a pitch that still looks great for batting. Initially, when he stepped on to the crease, he did look a bit shaky, but controlled his nerves soon with a six over third-man against Wood.
That really set the tone for his patient 46, which in turn, could come in handy, if he goes on to score even more in the second innings, or even after that in the series.
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