Ranchi, Feb 26 (IANS) Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who was adjudged Player of the Match in India’s hard-fought five-wicket win over England in the fourth Test at the JSCA International Stadium, said his efforts has always been to do as per the demand of a particular situation in the match.
Playing just his second Test, Jurel made a career-best terrific 90 in the first innings, which kept India in the match and narrowed the deficit to 46. On day four’s play, he combined with Shubman Gill to stitch an unbroken 72-run match-winning stand for the sixth wicket to help India get over the line in a chase of 192.
“Whatever the situation demands, I want to do that. In our 1st innings, I thought the more runs I score now, the fewer runs we would have in our 2nd innings. Our wickets were falling (in the first innings), and I was batting with lower-order batters, but we got partnerships with them. So they deserve some credit too.”
“Felt good playing against them (Anderson and Wood in the third Test) because I saw them on TV. Focus was on seeing the ball, not the bowler. Gill and I were discussing about making small tasks. To approach the chase in sets of ten runs each,” said Jurel after the match ended.
Shubman Gill, who remained not out on 55 in the chase of 192, was also in praise of Jurel’s maturity, as India now have an unassailable 3-1 series lead. “We were put under pressure, but got a good start from our openers. Jurel came out and took the pressure off, he saw the situation and played accordingly. They were protecting the boundaries, so it was about not giving maidens and keep picking the singles.”
“He (Jurel) batted beautifully in the first innings and had to have the same mindset. I decided to take lbw out of the equation by using my feet. It means the world to us, playing the series with not much batting experience, losing KL after the first Test, but Rohit Bhai backed us and gave us the confidence to go out and play with freedom.”
–IANS
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