Former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara has heaped praise on Dhruv Jurel after the right-hander scored a stunning century in the first innings of the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Colombo on Monday.

Jurel scored a fine knock of 115 runs off 177 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes, which is his second Test century. The wicket-keeper-batsman looked in complete control throughout his innings and batted at the top of his game.

Jurel added 112 runs with Rishabh Pant, who also scored a crucial knock of 63 runs for the seventh wicket. Pujara hailed Jurel’s footwork after the batter scored a fine knock to put India in front.

“Dhruv Jurel’s footwork is extremely precise. He plays good shots on the front foot, uses his feet, and moves well onto the back foot. In my opinion, in this team, after KL Rahul, he plays the best against fast bowlers. He has a vast range of shots. He can play the sweep shot, reverse sweep, and big shots by using his feet,” Pujara said on Sony Sports.

Pujara said Jurel was able to prove his mettle and repaid the faith shown in him by the management.

“The Indian team had seen his talent long ago. They showed faith in him, but that performance wasn’t coming. His performance wasn’t as good as the backing he was getting. So there was slight pressure on him. You can remove that pressure only by performing. He performed in the last match. Ultimately, when you are a talented player, you need to perform,” Pujara observed.

On the other hand, former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif highlighted that all of the balls found the middle of Dhruv Jurel’s bat as he looked in complete control.

“He didn’t get beaten at all. The ball didn’t hit his bat’s outside edge at all. All balls hit the middle of his bat. It shows how organized a batter he is. The Indian team is searching for players who can bat well against spin. Why do we lose in India? It was because we weren’t able to play spin,” he said.

The former UP batter said Jurel showed he is equally good while playing pacers as well as spinners.

“I understand he plays fast bowling well, but against spin, he played shots off the back foot, used his feet, brought out the reverse sweep, and he has the hunger to score runs. There was a lot of pressure when he went to bat in Galle. If he had gotten out there, he might not have gotten a chance to play this Test match, and he showed dominance there. His batting came against the new ball yesterday,” Kaif observed.

India posted 503-9 as Jurel played a key role in the team’s score.