In the absence of Shubman Gill, Dhruv Jurel was promoted to a very important role in India’s Test lineup; However, he is yet to prove his dominance in this role and he gave away his wicket by playing some irresponsible shots in the first Test in Guwahati.
India are hosting South Africa for a two-match Test series, and in the first match the defending WTC champions defeated the home side in spin-prone conditions. The second match started on a clean pitch with better batting conditions.
However, India did not bat as well as the Proteas batsmen did in the first innings. While the Proteas kept scoring runs with ease, the Indians struggled to even cross 200. He crossed the double century mark, but could not even go beyond the follow-on score.
Former Indian wicketkeeper gave a blunt assessment of Dhruv Jurel’s dismissal in the first innings.
Young Indian wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel came into limelight after replacing injured Rishabh Pant during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. After this, Dhruv Jurel replaced Pant for the West Indies tour and batted brilliantly and scored his first Test century.
Dhruv Jurel continued his form in the unofficial Test against South Africa and scored centuries in both innings of the second unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A. Therefore, despite the return of Rishabh Pant, he was included in the team.
Despite no strong resistance from the batsman at Eden Gardens, he was promoted to the number 4 position, the most important role in the Indian batting order. He replaced captain Shubman Gill after the captain was ruled out due to neck spasms.
The No. 4 position holds a huge legacy within the Indian team, as the great Sachin Tendulkar and then later Virat Kohli batted at this position in their Test careers, and their records speak volumes about their greatness.
Even though the tea break was not around, this shot was still on – Parthiv Patel
Dhruv Jurel will have to face the heat and pressure of batting in such an important role. More than scoring runs, what matters most in such roles is his eagerness to continue batting and maintain his composure.
Dhruv Jurel was handed the No. 4 spot in the absence of Shubman Gill, his innings was short-lived as he was out for a duck on 11 balls. But what angered the fans the most was his poor shot selection and former Indian opener Parthiv Patel has given a very candid assessment of Dhruv Jurel’s dismissal in the first innings.
“Even though the tea break was not close, this shot was still not on. He deserves to play as a batsman because he has scored a lot of runs. However, here, he was not in control at all. Normally, when the ball is outside the right shoulder of a right-handed batsman, and you try to play it on the leg side, you are not in control. That ball mostly goes in the air, and that is what happened here too,” the cricketer-turned-commentator said on Star Sports.
After Kohli’s retirement, Shubman Gill also took up the role of India’s new No. 4 with some grace and promised exciting batting.
He said, “Secondly, when you are playing Marco Jansen, you have to take into account the extra bounce because he is very tall. He has missed his third chance in a row. He is getting a chance to bat at No. 4. Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli used to bat at No. 4. Shubman Gill is batting at No. 4 now. He has scored a lot of runs as well.”
South Africa is eyeing a clean sweep and will take its lead beyond 400.
South Africa does not want to let things end easily in India. It has been a long time since South Africa dominated India with so much authority in the subcontinent. After a low-scoring win over India at the Eden Gardens, they now prepare for the high-scoring match in Guwahati.
By touching the 150 mark in this innings too, they have increased their lead from 288 to almost 450 and they would like to put 500 runs on the board before calling India to chase the target.
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