Dhruv Jurel joins elite list after securing POTM award in India's Ranchi Test victory

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel made an impactful performance both with the bat and the gloves in the fourth Test in Ranchi. India won the Test match by five wickets and secured a series win against England.

Dhruv Jurel scored 90 and an unbeaten 39 in the match. With Shubman Gill (52*), he added an unbeaten 72-run stand taking India to victory in the first two sessions.

India scored 307 after being 177/7 in the first innings and won the match after losing five wickets with over 70 required in the fourth innings. Jurel playing just his second innings seems to have filled the void for the wicket-keeper batsman role in the Test side.

Since Rishabh Pant’s unfortunate accident, India have used the likes of KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, and also KL Rahul. Rahul kept in the Test series against South Africa. With Kishan’s disciplinary issues and the low returns from Bharat with the bat, Jurel’s innings turned into gold dust for India.

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He is now the first wicketkeeper to be named the Player of the Match in a debut series for India in 22 years. Ajay Ratra was the previous keeper to be named the Player of The Match during India’s tour to West Indies in 2002.

Dhruv Jurel Joins MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant In Elite List

Indian wicketkeepers to win POTM in Tests:

2 – Rishabh Pant
2 – MS Dhoni
1 – Dhruv Jurel
1 – Ajay Ratra
1 – Wriddhiman Saha
1 – Nayan Mongia

MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, Nayan Mongia, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajay Ratra and Dhruv Jurel are the only six keeper-batters for India to have won the Player of the Match awards. Dhoni and Pant have won two MOM awards in their career while the others have won just once.

Given that Pant might still take a little more time to return to the Test team, Jurel for now seems to be India’s first-choice keeper batter, especially after his heroics with the bat in Ranchi.

“I play according to the demands of the situation. The 1st innings, we needed to get runs as well, we knew we had to bat last and so any runs would be vital. I was involved in some partnerships, so credit does go to all those who stayed and added runs. I just saw the ball and then reacted to it, not thinking too far ahead. The conversation was good (with Shubman Gill in the 2nd innings), we just broke it into 10-run sets and started developing the partnership,” he said after winning his Man of the Match award.

England now will be enjoying their break in Bengaluru and Chandigarh before gathering together in Dharamsala on March 4. They have already lost the series and now will look to win the final Test in Dharamsala where the conditions are expected to be very different from what it was in the first three Test matches.

Ben Stokes, the England skipper lauded his players for fighting through the fourth Test in Ranchi. He said in his post-match presentation that the scoreline does not justify how closely the series has been fought and how well his players have played.

“I think it was a great Test match. If you see the scoreboard, it’ll say India won by 5 wickets, but it doesn’t give credit to the way things unfolded, the ebbs and flows on every single day it happened. I can only be proud of my team, we ‘ve had some inexperienced spinners (Bashir and Hartley), but I’m proud of their efforts, they came here without a lot of exposure and the way they kept bowling, I can’t ask for anything more” said Stokes.

Also Read: “Thank you Rohit bhaiya, Rahul sir” – Dhruv Jurel posts special message after Ranchi Test heroics