 "Dhruv Jurel perished while trying to smash Shoaib Bashir over long on for a six to register his first low score of his debut series. Sportzpics")
Just days after comparing him with legendary India wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar slammed youngster Dhruv Jurel for his soft dismissal on Day 2 of the fifth Test against England in Dharamsala.
Jurel, who scored a patient 46 off 104 balls on debut in Rajkot before producing match-defining knocks of 90 and 39 not out in India’s thrilling victory in Ranchi, was dismissed in a rather soft manner off Shoaib Bashir’s bowling to depart for 15.
Jurel decided to charge down the track against the off-spinner and smash him over long on, but couldn’t quite get the distance even if he got the elevation, resulting in a simple catch for Ben Duckett in front of the boundary rope.
Jurel’s wicket would begin a slide for the hosts as they would end up losing three wickets for just one run to get reduced to 428/8. And Gavaskar, who is part of the commentary panel for the ongoing Test series, urged the youngster to be more mindful of the match situation when it comes to his shot-selection.
“Jurel will be very disappointed at that shot. Yes, that’s what happened. To get it at the bottom of the bat. You’ve just come out to bat. You’ve batted only 24 deliveries. You can see that there is Ravindra Jadeja batting at the other end. There’s a fielder there at deep. You did not have to play that shot. No wonder Jurel is looking at his bat very, very upset with himself. And he should be,” Gavaskar said while commentating on Day 2 of the fifth Test at Dharamsala’s picturesque HPCA Stadium.
Impact Shorts
View All“Always be mindful of what happened in Hyderabad. He can look as much as he wants to. Yes. The learning curve. Never take anything for granted. Not in Test cricket. It does not make any sense,” the Indian batting icon added.
A fighting partnership between Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, worth 45 at the close of play, ensured India recovered from the mini-collapse after tea and ended the day on a high .
Read | Rohit and Gill’s tons and other talking points from Day 2 of Dharamsala Test
Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had led the way with centuries — both reaching the milestone for the second time in the ongoing series — with debutant Devdutt Padikkal (65) and Sarfaraz Khan (56) also chipping in with half-centuries to help the hosts post the highest total of the series so far.
Both Kuldeep and Bumrah, however, would depart in quick succession shortly after start of play on Day 3. While Kuldeep was caught-behind off James Anderson’s bowling that resulted in the veteran English pacer becoming only the third bowler in the history of the sport to complete 700 wickets . Bumrah would then get stumped off Bashir’s bowling, resulting in the off-spinner collecting his second five-for in his debut series.
India ended their innings with a lead of 259, and currently are strong favourites to clinch the series by a commanding 4-1 margin.