"Showed a lot of maturity, composure" - Rohit Sharma showers high praise on Dhruv Jurel
Playing only in his second Test, India's wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel made some key contributions with the bat that helped the team beat England by five wickets in the fourth Test on Monday. As a result, the hosts have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Coming in for KS Bharat in the third Test, Jurel immediately showed that he belonged to this place. He scored a gritty 46 on debut in Rajkot and followed it up with a classic knock of 90 runs in the first innings in Ranchi. It helped India post a challenging total on the board after being reduced 177/7 in reply to England's 353.
Continuing the good work, Dhruv Jurel stitched together a match-winning 72-run unbeaten stand with Shubman Gill to help India chase down 192 runs in the second innings. The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer remained unbeaten on 39 off 77 balls.
Lauding Jurel for the maturity he has shown so early in his international career, Rohit Sharma said in the presentation ceremony:
"Jurel playing his second Test showed solid composure, calmness and he's got the shots as well to play all around the wicket. The first innings 90 of his was very crucial for us to get close to that England's total and again in the second innings showed a lot of maturity, composure along with Gill."
Jurel will look to build on this in the fifth and final Test and make a case for himself to be on the plane for the tour of Australia later this year.
"We just broke it into 10-run sets" - Dhruv Jurel on his match-winning partnership with Shubman Gill
Dhruv Jurel has scored some crucial runs in the first two Tests of his career. The most important of those came in Ranchi where he shared the stage with Shubman Gill to take the team through.
Throwing light on the partnership, the 23-year-old stated that breaking the target into 10-run sets helped them build the stand.
"I just saw the ball and then reacted to it, not thinking too far ahead," he said at the end of the game. "The conversation was good (with Shubman Gill in the 2nd innings), we just broke it into 10-run sets and started developing the partnership."
The fifth and final Test of this series between India and England will get underway on March 7 in Dharamsala.