Dhruv Jurel’s impressive batting and keeping skills have earned him praise from Ben Stokes after India won the Ranchi Test and clinched the Test series on Monday, February 26.
Jurel scored 90 in the first innings and unbeaten 39 in the second innings for India in the fourth Test in Ranchi. India were in trouble in both innings. In the first innings. the Men in Blue were 177/7 while 120/5 in the second innings chased down 192 to win.
Jurel showed immense composure in the most difficult situations in both innings. Rohit Sharma (55) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37) added 84 for the first wicket. From being 84/1, India were reduced to 120/5 before Jurel joined hands with Shubman Gill (52*) for an unbeaten 72-run stand that took India to victory.
Opposing captain Ben Stokes was apparently very impressed with Dhruv Jurel’s batting and ability. He made three catches in the Test match, including a one-handed stunner to dismiss James Anderson in the second innings. Stokes, in his post-match interaction, spoke of England goalkeeper Ben Foaakes having a “man-love” for the young 23-year-old Indian goalkeeper.
“He has played both innings very well. The guarding of him was also something to watch. I think Ben Foakes has a crush on him,” Ben Stokes said.
Earlier, India were also impressive with the ball. Ravichandran Ashwin crossed 100 Test wickets against England as he took his 35th Test in the second innings. He took only one wicket in the first innings and five in the second. Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets in the first innings, while Kuldeep Yadav took a four-wicket haul in the second innings.
So far in the Test series, England spinners have bagged 43 wickets, while Indian spinners have bagged 46 wickets. Jasperit Bumrah, who was rested in the fourth Test, bagged 17 wickets. James Anderson bagged 8 wickets, the most for an England pacer.
In terms of runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal is the highest run-getter in the series with 655 runs in the series so far at an average of 93.57. Shubman Gill with 342 runs is the second highest scorer of runs. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett scored 328 and 314 respectively. Root, after his 10th Test ton against India, now has 210 runs at an average of 30.
Dhruv Jurel was man of the match in Ranchi
Dhruv Jurel bagged the Man of the Match for his exploits with the bat in both the innings. He became the first debutant Indian wicketkeeper to win the Man of the Match award after Ajay Ratra, who won it against the West Indies. Meanwhile, this is the first Test series that England has lost under the “Bazball” regime. Also, this is the first time England have lost three Test matches in a row under the captaincy of Ben Stokes.
“The series has shown a lot of talent, for us and for India. I love Test cricket and we have seen some young, inexperienced players perform and the future looks bright in this format,” Stokes said at the post-match presentation.
Also Read: “Joe Root scored a hundred, Jurel scored 90” – Rohit Sharma defends Ranchi pitch after Test series win over England