"You came back into the game because of that" - RP Singh lauds Dhruv Jurel's performance in 4th IND vs ENG Test
Former India pacer RP Singh has picked Dhruv Jurel's first-innings knock as the best performance of the fourth Test between India and England in Ranchi.
Jurel scored 90 runs off 149 deliveries to limit India's first-innings deficit to 46. He followed that up with an unbeaten 39 off 77 balls in the second essay as the hosts registered a five-wicket win and took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Singh chose Jurel's first-innings knock when asked to pick the story of the fourth Test. He elaborated:
"There are many stories in Test matches as there are a lot of ups and downs. If I have to pick one, in my opinion, it will be Dhruv Jurel's knock, the young talent who played a good 90-run knock."
"You came back into the game because of that. If Dhruv Jurel had gotten out early, we might have fallen way behind in this match. So that knock was special. It came at the right time and our path to victory became slightly easier because of that," the former India pacer added.
India were reduced to 177/7 in their first innings, still trailing the visitors by 176 runs, when Ravichandran Ashwin was dismissed. Jurel then added 130 runs for the final three wickets with Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj before becoming the last player to be dismissed.
"That 90 was equivalent to a hundred" - Owais Shah on Dhruv Jurel's first-innings knock
Owais Shah was further asked how impressed he was with Dhruv Jurel's performance. He responded:
"Very impressive, especially the first innings. That 90 was equivalent to a hundred because he took his team out of trouble and made them reach here where a win was possible. He told the captain that he had done his job and asked him to give the ball to Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav and they would win the match."
The former England player praised the wicketkeeper-batter for the maturity he showed despite his lack of experience.
"I feel he showed great composure. Another player who showed maturity beyond his age. Yashasvi Jaiswal has consistently been doing it and troubling the England captain, but another star for the future," Shah stated.
India were in a spot of bother when Jurel walked out to bat in the second innings as well as they were reduced to 120/5 in pursuit of a 192-run target. He strung together an unbroken 72-run sixth-wicket partnership with Shubman Gill (52* off 124) to take the hosts over the line.