"Never saw Dhruv Jurel in Domestic Cricket.."- Wriddhiman Saha

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha who kept the wickets on 40 occasions in red-ball cricket, had a bright choice of words for Dhruv Jurel. Saha labeled Jurel as an outstanding wicket-keeper batsman after seeing the 23-year-old play a man-of-the-match-winning knock against England in the 4th Test. The hosts were able to clinch the series, thanks to his efforts, by 3-1 with a 5-wicket win.

Dhruv Jurel’s knocks across innings of the Ranchi Test were extremely important from India’s standpoint. Rohit Sharma’s side were pushed to the backfoot on the first two mornings. Joe Root had led England’s charge with the bat, remaining 122* while Shoaib Bashir had wreaked havoc with his maiden 5-wicket haul in the longest format.

How Jurel saved India from embarrassment in the Ranchi Test

The Indians were reduced to 7 wickets for just 177 in their reply to England’s 1st innings total of 353. And that’s when Jurel took the onus on his shoulders and stitched a match-saving partnership with Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. The duo would take India from 177 to 258 before Kuldeep departed for 28 while Jurel remained stuck in the crease. The surface was undoubtedly very hard to bat on but batters could reap rewards if they stood for long hours.

And that’s what Dhruv Jurel did. The right-hand batter displayed elegance in each of his shots. He had patience and an immaculate ability to counter-spin. The 23-year-old wasn’t looking in a rush and the Ranchi track rewarded him with a 149-ball 90 before Tom Hartley cleaned his stumps out of nowhere.

Jurel was walking towards the dressing room with a sad face as he missed out on his maiden century by just 10 runs. However, given the type of inning he played in a difficult situation, Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma will be more than happy with his efforts.

Then in England’s 2nd innings, Dhruv Jurel’s contribution was complimented by the wizardries of Ravi Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav. The finger and wrist-spinning duo shared 9 wickets while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja took a single scalp of Jonny Bairstow.

Being bowled out for just 145, England left 192 as the target for India to claim their 17th straight home Test series win. India’s response started positively as Rohit Sharma scored a half-century but on day 4, nobody knew that a middle-order collapse was on the cards.

While Rohit and Jaiswal departed for 55 and 37, Rajat Patidar (0), Jadeja (4), and Sarfaraz Khan (golden duck) left the crease with disappointment. Dhruv Jurel came to India’s rescue once again, made a 75-run partnership with Shubman Gill, and also scored the winning runs. The Agra-born was also adjudged as man of the match.

Wriddhiman Saha feels India’s bench is ready

During a recent interview with the Press Trust of India (PTI), Wriddhiman Saha claimed that Dhruv Jurel was outstanding with his batting performance. The 39-year-old claimed India’s reserve bench is getting stronger due to players like him and urged youngsters to grab whatever opportunities they get.

“I have never seen him (Dhruv Jurel) in domestic cricket, even in Test matches I have seen in his highlights. But his batting is outstanding, he won the last Test for the team. It is always good to see that your reserve bench is ready, whenever somebody is getting a chance.”

“Over that, some players are getting opportunities but don’t want to play, which they shouldn’t. Whenever you get a chance to play, you should play whether it is red ball or white ball.” – Wriddhiman Saha told PTI.