India’s wicket-keeper bat Dhruv Jurel said he doesn’t regret missing out on a century after scoring a gutsy knock of 90 runs off 149 balls on the third day’s play against England at Ranchi. The right-hander, playing his second Test match, scored six fours and four sixes in his fighting knock.
Jurel added a crucial alliance of 76 runs with Kuldeep Yadav, who also played a resilient knock of 28 runs, after India was 177-7. This would have been the maiden Test century for Jurel but he was to delighted to contribute to the team’s success.
“To tell the truth, I don’t rue missing out on my hundred at all because it’s my debut Test series. In truth, I’m desperate to lift this trophy with my hands, because playing Test cricket was always a big dream of mine,” said Jurel as quoted by BCCI.
Meanwhile, the Ranchi pitch has been under the scanner for its unpredictable bounce. Jurel added it was not easy to play square of the wicket because of the low bounce.
“This was a low bounce wicket, so obviously one couldn’t score square of the wicket. It is better to score off a straight face (of the bat). So I tried to keep myself ready for the fact that the wicket was playing low, and tried to play as straight as possible. Even my bigger shots, I tried to hit them down the ground,” he added.
Jurel added he has been putting in the hard work to reap the rewards. The 22-year-old youngster showed he was ready when he was given the opportunity.
“I have believed in putting in hard work since I was a child. If people put in 4-5 hours a day, I focused on giving 7-8 hours. There is no alternative to hard work. The competition is very tough in domestic cricket, so the only goal was to make the most of the opportunity you have.”
England could have taken a huge lead of more than 150 but Jurel’s knock helped the hosts in reducing the deficit to below 50.
On the fourth day’s play, India needs another 152 runs to win with 10 wickets in hand.
