It was a green deck, and South Africa A bowled with a lot of venom in the session before lunch. Abhimanyu Easwaran fell for a duck, while Sai Sudharsan did not covert a start. KL Rahul too fell to a good delivery, and when India lost Devdutt Padikkal to the ball of the morning, South Africa A were on top. Rishabh Pant counter-punched for a bit, but when he was dismissed after lunch and Akash Deep followed soon after, it seemed that India A would be bowled out for under 150. Nothing of the sort happened, with Dhruv Jurel scoring a sensational hundred and holding the innings together.
From the very start of his innings, Jurel was composed. He was getting behind the line of the ball and playing everything under his eyes. At every opportunity, he counterattacked as well and never did the scoring rate get stuck. On a challenging wicket, it was an innings of character. In playing like this ahead of the Eden Gardens Test, Jurel has made a strong case for himself at No. 3. Since the start of the England tour, India have tried Karun Nair and Sudharsan at that pivotal position. While Karun is no longer part of the squad, Sudharsan hasn’t really made the spot his own yet. He did get starts but hasn’t really converted.
That’s where Jurel comes in. Does it make sense to bat him at 3 on the back of this really good hundred? He has the technique and the temperament, and hasn’t done badly at Test level in the limited opportunities that he has got. His presence would mean Pant could also be given a breather if needed, though that’s a secondary consideration.
Coming back to the Jurel innings, it was full of courage and resilience. Against Tiaan van Vuuren, for example he was tested. The ball was moving around and Jurel had to bring out his A game to overcome the spell. Also, to bat with the lower order is an art, and he did that to perfection with Harsh Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. In fact, at no point did he look perturbed. Rather, he gave his partners confidence, and by the end of the day had taken India A to a position of respectability.
Jurel, we know from experience, can play the new ball. He has done so in the past in Test matches on Indian soil. Blessed with a solid technique, he could well be India’s answer to the No. 3 challenge, and deserves a look on at the back of some consistent performances. The best part is he doesn’t seem fazed by quality bowling. We have seen that in Australia as well, when he batted extremely well for India A ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In England too, at The Oval in difficult batting conditions, he played a valuable hand for India. More importantly, he didn’t look uncomfortable at any point and seemed in control for the entire duration he was out there.
A livewire on the field, there is reason to believe that Jurel could add to India’s balance against South Africa. Much like the others, he too deserves a chance and, may I say, he has earned it.
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