Dhruv Jurel has done his chances of playing the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy a world of good by scoring twin fifties in the second unofficial Test against Australia A.
The wicketkeeper batter backed his 80-run knock up with a 68 in the second innings and can very well walk straight into India’s playing XI in Perth.
Jurel, 23, was the only Indian batter to cross the fifty-plus mark in the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He looked compact against the pace of Beau Webster, Nathan McAndrew, Michael Neser and Scott Boland and also played Australia A’s premier spinner Corey Rocchiccioli with ease.
If Jurel is drafted into India’s playing XI for the first Test then it wouldn’t come across as a major surprise as two of his competitors had a game to forget at the ‘G’.
KL Rahul who was flown in early alongside Jurel registered scores of 4 and 10 whereas reserve opener Abhimanyu Easwaran could only manage 0 and 17 in the game. Rahul was benched in the second and third Test against New Zealand after scoring 0 and 12 in the first Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He made way for Sarfaraz Khan who scored a brilliant 150 in the first Test.
Rahul had the opportunity to make a case for himself but his underwhelming returns have raised big question marks. His dismissal in the second innings took internet by storm after he left a ball from Rocchiccioli which bowled him between his legs.
However, Sarfaraz’s form has also taken a hit since that knock. His last four innings have yielded only 21 runs and therefore he is not certain to be a part of India’s XI for the first Test.
The first Test of the series will get underway on November 22 at the Optus Stadium.
