NEW DELHI: Young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel continued his impressive form in the ongoing second unofficial Test between India A and Australia A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, playing a crucial knock on Saturday.
Jurel, who had earlier anchored India A’s first innings with a resilient 80 off 186 balls, once again rescued his team with a gritty half-century, helping India A post a total of 229 to set a challenging 168-run target for Australia A.
India A’s top-order struggled once more, suffering an early collapse in their second innings after trailing by 62 runs from the first innings. The team lost half of its side for just 56 runs, echoing the collapse in the first innings when they had lost four wickets for only 11 runs.
However, Jurel, the 23-year-old keeper-batter, held firm and played a composed knock of 68 from 122 balls, striking five boundaries. He forged a crucial 94-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Nitish Reddy, who contributed 38 runs, stabilizing India A’s innings.
Jurel’s back-to-back fifties have been a timely reminder of his excellent form ahead of the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, set to commence on November 22. His contributions with the bat have been vital in what has been a low-scoring contest dominated by the bowlers at the MCG.
The lower-order batters also stepped up in the second innings, with Tanush Kotian adding a valuable 44 and Prasidh Krishna chipping in with 29 to push India A’s total past the 200-run mark. Their efforts ensured that India A set Australia A a competitive target of 168, which could prove difficult to chase on a pitch where bowlers have held the upper hand throughout the game.
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