The fissures had become wider. The wicket was delivering erratic bounce. England seemed ready to establish a significant lead in the first innings against India and work towards a possible 2-2 draw in Ranchi in the five-match Test series. The difference was 134 runs when Day 3 began with India’s lower order exposed. Despite No. 9 Kuldeep Yadav’s determined innings of 28 off 131, which came to an end in the first hour of the third morning at the JSCA International, young Dhruv Jurel carried on alone. He achieved his first Test half-century before gradually approaching the three-figure mark. Unfortunately, the wicketkeeper-batsman was left heartbroken just before lunch when Tom Hartley dismissed him. Nevertheless, the enthusiastic response from the Ranchi crowd and the Indian team lifted his morale.
Jurel did not do anything improper in response to Hartley’s speech. The flighted ball gripped extra as it spun past the bat, hutting the off stump from middle and leg. When the child saw that the stumps were shattered, he was in total astonishment. After his heroics against the England spinners and on that low-bouncing Ranchi track, he was well on his way to making a century, which he deserved.
Jurel received a hearty reception from the audience as he cautiously made his way back to the pavilion; they stood to give him a standing ovation. Even the England players gave him a pat on the back, especially Joe Root, who earlier on Day 2 had described him as a “talented” batter. And when he reached the dressing room, he was met with an enthusiastic welcome by players like captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and other India colleagues.
In the fourth Test, Jurel’s bowling on Sunday cut the England lead to only 46 runs after they managed to take a lead in the first innings.
Kuldeep and Jurel put on a heroic 76-run partnership earlier in the first session of Day 3 until James Anderson broke the former’s fast. As India finished their first innings on 307, the wicketkeeper-batter switched gears with Akash Deep to smash a few quick boundaries.