RANCHI: “Ready raho, aaney wala hai (be ready, Ready raho, aa raha hai.”
Dhruv Jurel’s constant refrain from behind the stumps rang loud in the afternoon sun, reminding the Indian spinners that another England wicket was just around the corner.
His exhortations, punctuated by the constant shouts of “chalo bhaiyo” suggested something magical was around the corner. Jurel had reasons to feel optimistic, given that this son of a Kargil warrior from Uttar Pradesh had a few hours earlier marked his territory as the team’s definite choice wicketkeeper-batsman, scoring a compact 90 in difficult circumstances in just his second Test.
For someone who is just 16 First-Class matches old, Jurel had played time, shelved the horizontal bats which are his bread and butter in the IPL, shepherded the tail and yet showed he would not be merciful on the loose deliveries. It was the kind of game-changing innings from a No. 7 wicketkeeper-batsman the team had been craving for.
After all, it isn’t every day that the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes walk up to console you when you have just missed a debut ton. “No batsman is naturally aggressive,” Jurel said after the day’s play. “In the IPL, every time I walk out to bat the situation demands that I score 35-40 runs off 11 or so balls. I can’t defend there.
“The situation here was that I had to bat long. I can’t do that by keeping on hitting. I just spent as much time at the wicket as I could. It has been my dream to play Test cricket. This was a pitch with low bounce, so I played straight. Even the boundaries were straight hits.”
Perhaps it is apt that India have unearthed another rough gem in the land of MS Dhoni, for Jurel showed he has the smarts behind the stumps too, apart from one missed stumping which luckily didn’t prove costly. The lead-up to this Test has been dominated by talk of predecessor KS Bharat’s lack of contributions with the bat, and that is a debate which appears to have been settled, at least for now.
Like the other Indian debutants in this series, Jurel too is no stranger to early hardship, therefore capable of the tireless hard work, bordering on obsession, which is required to gain entry into the top echelons of any sport. He also believes in smart preparation and offered a rare peek into his personal work ethic, something most Indian cricketers are loath to share.
1/10:4th Test, Day 3: Ravichandran Ashwin bags five as India chase 192 for series win
Reuters
2/10:Ashwin shines with 35th fifer
<p>Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took five wickets as India bowled England out for 145 on day three of the fourth Test on Sunday to set up a chase of 192 to clinch the series.<br /></p>AP
3/10:India sniff series win
<p>India reached 40 for 0 at stumps, needing another 152 to win their third straight match and the five-Test series. Skipper Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 24, with Yashasvi Jaiswal on 16.<br /></p>TOI Sports
4/10:Spinners put India on top
<p>Opener Zak Crawley earlier top-scored with 60 but the rest of the England batting faltered against India's spin, with Ashwin returning figures of 5-51 and Kuldeep Yadav 4-22.<br /><br /></p>AFP
5/10:England falter again
<p>England lost regular wickets to end their innings in the final session, leaving it up to the bowlers to level the series and send it to a fifth-Test decider in Dharamsala.<br /></p>Reuters
6/10:Jurel masterclass
<p>India's bowlers did their job after wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel hit 90 in the morning session to reduce the hosts' deficit after they began the day on 219 for 7.<br /></p>PTI
7/10:Ashwin mania
<p>Ashwin took the new ball on a pitch with cracks and variable bounce and struck in consecutive balls to remove Ben Duckett, caught at short leg for 15, and Ollie Pope, lbw without scoring, as England were reduced 19-2.<br /></p>Getty Images
8/10:Batters disappoint
<p>Root, who scored an unbeaten 122 in the first innings, put on 46 with Crawley before Ashwin and India lbw review sent him packing. Crawley raised his fifty but was bowled by Kuldeep.<br /></p>AP
9/10:Stokes' poor run continues
<p>Kuldeep then removed Ben Stokes just before tea when the England captain was undone for the second time in the match by a ball that barely bounced ankle high and was bowled off his pad. Jonny Bairstow fell on the first ball after tea. Ben Foakes then fell for a 76-ball 17 off Ashwin.<br /></p>Getty Images
10/10:Five-star Bashir
<p>Earlier, England spinner Shoaib Bashir took his first Test five-wicket haul to help bowl India out for 307, giving the tourists a lead of 46 going into their second innings.<br /></p>TOI Sports“Hard work is one thing but I am a big believer in visualization, in manifestation,” he said. “I start preparing a week or two ahead of any important assignment. For this series, I looked at the bowling lineups, how I can play them. I recreate the entire scenario. There was James Anderson, Mark Wood, Tom Hartley. I saw their videos, the areas where they bowled, and understood how I could take them on.”
It is this clarity of thought which was on view even when he was keeping, though he remains a work in progress. “It’s my debut series. There is pressure. Keeping to these spinners is a challenge because not only are they world-class, their bowling style is a bit different. It is tough but I like new challenges. Challenges are fun.”
Of course, given the match situation, Jurel had got over the disappointment of missing a ton by stumps. His father would have liked the ‘salute’ celebration he had wanted. “I spoke to him last night and he said, ‘Beta ek baar salute to dikha de,” a beaming Jurel said. A win here, of course, will be the real balm for missing out on the century.
