Briefly speaking
- Jurel’s innings consisted of 80 runs off 186 deliveries.
- Day 1 saw India getting dismissed for a total of 161 runs.
- In Melbourne, the Indian top batting lineup, KL Rahul included, encountered a failure.
In a match where other batsmen faltered, Dhruv Jurel shone brightly by crafting a resilient innings of 80 runs from 186 deliveries for India-A in the second unofficial Test versus Australia-A on November 7th, Thursday at Melbourne. His innings, embellished with 6 boundaries and 2 maximums, propelled India-A to a total of 161 runs, rescuing the team from the embarrassment of another top-order collapse.
Jurel was included in the India-A squad in preparation for the Perth Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, along with KL Rahul, to provide them with some match practice. Despite being part of India’s squads for the Bangladesh and New Zealand Test series, Jurel did not get the opportunity to play. His notable performance earlier in the year against England, where he rescued the Indian team, was reminiscent of his innings in the Ranchi Test. With Michael Neser posing a threat to the Indian top order, a repeat performance from Jurel was crucial.
In the initial stages of the match, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan quickly returned to the pavilion in the very first over, courtesy of Neser’s effective bowling. Furthermore, Rahul, who had taken up the role of an opener in the practice match, fell short, managing a mere 4 runs before being ousted by Scott Boland. Even Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad couldn’t hold his ground for long, leading to India’s struggle at 11 for 4 within just 3 overs.
Devdutt Padikkal and Jurel teamed up in the middle, stabilizing the Indian innings. Before lunch, Neser returned to remove Padikkal from the crease. Jurel, on the other hand, was holding firm at 24 runs from 91 deliveries when India reached 64 for 5 at the break.
Before Beau Webster sent the all-rounder and Tanush Kotian back to the pavilion in quick succession, Jurel and Nitish Kumar Reddy managed to accumulate 39 runs, putting India in a tough spot at 103 for 7. Subsequently, Jurel took charge of the innings, gradually losing partners as he went along. Despite the challenging situation, he found a valuable ally in Prasidh Krishna, with whom he put together a partnership that yielded 36 runs before falling prey to McSweeney.
