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The cracks had widened. The pitch had uneven bounce. England looked primed to take a big first-innings lead against India and build towards a potential 2-2 draw in Ranchi in the five-match Test series. The deficit stood at 134 when Day 3 resumed with India’s tail exposed. However, after No. 9 Kuldeep Yadav’s resilient show of 28 off 131 ended following the opening hour on the third morning at the JSCA International, young Dhruv Jurel marshalled on alone.
Jurel notched up his maiden Test fifty before steadily making a move towards the big triple-figure mark. However, the wicketkeeper-batter was left devastated at the stroke of lunch as Tom Hartley denied him the opportunity. But a rapturous reaction from the Ranchi crowd and the Indian dressing room uplifted his spirit.
Jurel did nothing wrong against that delivery from Hartley. The flighted ball gripped extra and turned past the bat from middle and leg to hut the off stump. The youngster was left in complete disbelief at seen the stumps broken. He was well set for a century, which he truly deserved after the fight he put on against the England spinners and on that Ranchi track that showed low bounce.
As Jurel slowly made his way back to the pavilion, he received a heartwarming reaction from the crowd, who were on their feet to give him a standing ovation. Even the England players, especially Joe Root, who had called him a “talented” batter earlier on Day 2, congratulated him with a pat on the back. And this was followed by a rapturous welcome from the likes of head coach Rahul Dravid, captain Rohit Sharma and his fellow India teammates as he entered the dressing room.
England did manage to grab a first-innings lead in the fourth Test, but Jurel’s efforts on Sunday reduced the deficit to just 46 runs.
Earlier in the opening session on Day 3, Kuldeep and Jurel added a valiant 76-run stand before James Anderson ended the former’s vigil. The wicketkeeper-batter then changed gears with Akash Deep in company to smash a few quick boundaries as India ended their first innings on 307.
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