Dhruv Jurel is now seriously pushing for a spot of his own in the Indian Test team purely as a batter, as the wicketkeeper-batter has followed up his maiden Test ton last month against the West Indies, with a one-man effort of an unbeaten 132 for India A against South Africa A. With Rishabh Pant being named in the Test squad for the South Africa series, Jurel's spot as a keeper-batter is likely to get taken up, hence, the 24-year-old has to fight for a spot just as a pure batter and he is putting pressure on others.
Jurel looked to take on South Africa A's bowlers, coming in to bat at 59/4 after India A found themselves in early trouble at Bengaluru, Centre of Excellence. The wickets kept falling at the other end but it didn't deter Jurel from his path or upset his plans as he played on the merit of the ball and ended up smashing a well-deserved century, to single-handedly take India A's score beyond 200.
Eventually, India A were bowled out for 255 but Jurel stayed unbeaten on 132, including 12 fours and 4 sixes, while playing at a strike rate of 75, helping his side get to a score they could bowl at. With India's Test series set to kick off in a week's time against South Africa, Jurel is not doing any harm to his chances of starting in the hosts' XI in the opening game in Kolkata.
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Shubman Gill all walk into India's every Test XI as of now, but the two-time Test finalists are yet to seal the stamp on the No 3 spot, with Sai Sudharsan having yet to nail down his position. This is why India have an extra batter, Devdutt Padikkal, in the squad. Sudharsan scored an 87 against West Indies, but his average of 30.33 in five matches still doesn't reflect well on the promising left-hander, especially given the flat surfaces he has played on during the England series and in Ahmedabad and Delhi at home last month.
India A too began with the ball, taking three early wickets of South Africa A, including regular Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma's dismissal for a first-ball duck. The visitors have gotten a rearguard partnership from Jordan Hermann and Marques Ackermann and India A will be keen to bowl them out cheaply to keep things in control.
