Ranchi: 23-year-old India wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel made a significant impression on the cricket community, earning high praise for his stellar performance here.
Dhruv Jurel was adjudged Player of the Match in the fourth Test against England for his match-winning knocks of 90 and 39 not out to go with his impressive glove work behind the stumps at the JSCA International Stadium here.
In his debut Test in Rajkot, Jurel made a composed 46 in India’s first innings, and did not get to bat on the second outing. However, it was during his second appearance in Ranchi that Jurel garnered high praise from the cricketing fraternity.
He walked in to bat in a tricky situation when India were at 161/5, with a first-innings deficit of 192. The conditions were favouring the spinners well but Jurel soldiered the challenge with a scintillating knock.
Although he fell 10 runs short of what would have been his maiden Test hundred, his innings of 90 brought India back into the game. He followed that up with an unbeaten 39 in the fourth innings, sharing an unbroken 72-run stand with Shubman Gill on Day 4, guiding India to a series-clinching victory.
Reacting to his match-winning contributions, former cricketers and pundits of the game hailed him as India's latest ‘gem’.
He also earned praise for his calmness under pressure, and the maturity with which he performed in both the innings.
Jurel the new jewel in India’s prized collection of Test cricketers was the hero of the Ranchi Test, however the contributions of other players also earned a well-deserved praise.
With the series-sealing win in Rachin, India strengthened their position in the World Test Championship standings. The fifth and final Test of the series will be played in Dharamsala from March 7 to 11.