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If Team India goes on chase down 192 in Ranchi against England on Monday, their first successful fourth-innings chase of more than 150 runs since the heroics in Gabba in 2021, Dhruv Jurel‘s impactful knock of 90 runs against the England spinners on a tricky track will emerge as one of the biggest reasons behind the win. With the cracks widening up and India’s tail exposed, Jurel carved out a mature knock, which did not just reduce India’s deficit from 134, at the start of Day 3, to only 46 runs, but also earned him the highest-ever praise from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who drew MS Dhoni comparisons. After India closed out Day 3 with a big smile on their faces, Jurel responded to Gavaskar’s lofty words.
England looked certain to grab a big lead in Ranchi after the spin twin in Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir wreaked havoc against the India top order on Saturday. However, followed by a resilient 76-run stand between Jurel and India No. 9 Kuldeep Yadav, which left the English camp frustrated, the wicketkeeper-batter changed gears to complete his maiden fifty and later charge towards the big triple-figure score.
En route to the inspiring knock, Gavaskar, while on commentary, compared Jurel’s game awareness to that of the legendary Dhoni. And it wasn’t just because of just batting in the fourth Test. Gavaskar was immensely impressed with Jurel’s wicketkeeping as well, which led to the India batting great to reckon that the youngster “is another MS Dhoni in the making.”
“Of course he has batted well, but his keeping, his work behind the stumps has been equally brilliant. Just by looking at his game awareness, I want to say that he is another MS Dhoni in the making. I know there can never be another MSD but you know the presence of mind that he has, MSD also when he started, it was that. And Jurel has that game awareness. Street-smart cricketer,” Gavaskar said.
When made aware of Gavaskar’s words in the post-day press conference at the JSCA International Stadium, Jurel was quite chuffed about the comparisons with Dhoni, before he revealed that there was no specific instruction given by the team management on how to approach the play.
He said: “Obviously it’s a good feeling to hear a legend like Sunil Gavaskar talk about me. The mood was great, there were no specific instructions… just to go out and play. Watch the ball and play. Just that the long I play the better it is.”
The stunning efforts from Jurel did deserve a century, but he admitted that there were no regrets on missing the big score.
“I don’t regret a bit on missing the hundred. It’s my debut Test series, I’m just desperate to lift this trophy in my hands. It’s always a childhood dream to play for India in Tests,” he added.
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