Indian cricket is a crowded market-place. It is tough to stand out and even tougher to consistently do so. But even in this chaotic and unpredictable setting, Dhruv Jurel performs like a solid blue-chip stock – reliable, always growing and unaffected by the upheaval all around him.
On Thursday at the BCCI Centre of Excellence near here, the 24-year-old showed his worth yet again with a sublime unbeaten century (132 n.o., 175b, 12×4, 4×6) for India-A against South Africa-A on a green pitch with good carry and bounce where his 10 other comrades totalled only 114 runs.
The three-figure knock – his third in seven First Class innings after the 140 versus Australia-A and the 125 against West Indies – helped his side make 255, a figure that seemed distant from 126 for seven after India-A was asked to bat first.
Jurel, who has now seemingly patented the art of batting with the lower middle-order and tail, combined for 79 runs with Kuldeep Yadav for the eighth wicket and 34 with Mohammed Siraj for the ninth. He drove, steered and pulled the pacers confidently and smashed off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen for four maximums.
But the ease with which Jurel batted was in stark contrast to that of his teammates. K.L. Rahul (19) and Devdutt Padikkal (5) both fell fishing outside the off-stump to left-arm speedster Tiaan van Vuuren (four for 52) while Abhimanyu Easwaran (0) and B. Sai Sudharsan (17) were pinned to the crease and trapped in front.
Rishabh Pant scored at his customary pace (24, 20b, 3×4, 1×6) but flat-batted a catch to mid-off after stepping out to fast-bowler Tshepo Moreki.
Apart from Jurel, Kuldeep emerged with immense credit. He has often missed out of the Indian National playing XI because the team management has prioritised batting depth. But he came up with a sound display of his secondary skill, gobbling up 88 balls for his 20 and providing Jurel with timely support.
It was reminiscent of the duo’s match-turning – and ultimately match-winning – 76-run association versus England in Ranchi last year during which Kuldeep swallowed 131 balls for 28 runs. Will the latest iteration have the same effect?
The scores: India-A 255 in 77.1 overs (Dhruv Jurel 132 n.o., Tiaan van Vuuren 4/52) vs. South Africa-A; Toss: South Africa-A.