Dhruv Jurel clarified that his salute celebration upon reaching a half-century on Day 3 of the Ranchi Test against England was a tribute to his father Nem Chand, a Kargil war veteran. In just his second Test appearance, Jurel emerged as India’s top scorer with 90 runs off 149 balls in the first innings.
He played a crucial role in partnerships with lower-order batsmen Kuldeep Yadav (28) and Akash Deep (9), leading India’s recovery from a precarious position at 177/7 in response to England’s 353. Ultimately, India concluded their first innings at 307, narrowing England’s lead to 46 runs.
Fans were eager to understand the significance of Jurel’s salute celebration upon reaching his fifty in Ranchi. Shedding light on the matter, the 23-year-old stated to PTI:
‘It was for my father. Yesterday [Saturday] I spoke to him. My father indirectly told me ‘ek salute to dikha de (show me the salute once)’. He was a Kargil war veteran so my celebration was for him.”
During the press conference on Day 3, Jurel also expressed his thoughts on the pivotal 76-run partnership with Kuldeep Yadav for the eighth wicket.
“We both come from UP, we have good understanding, played a lot of domestic cricket together, we kept talking with each other and it helped in our partnership,” he said.
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Inquired about having a particular strategy while batting with the tail-enders, Jurel responded:
“There was no specific plan, but it is important to show confidence and faith. I had to tell them that you can bat. That is what we planned and it worked out. Both (Akash Deep and Siraj) are decent batters, they bat in IPL as well. I told them the same and it was necessary. They did well.”
Following Kuldeep’s departure, Jurel extended the partnership to 40 runs for the ninth wicket with Akash Deep, reducing England’s lead even further.
“I have faith in visualizing and bringing things into reality”- Jurel
Interestingly, the young player provided insights into his series preparations, sharing that he relies on the visualization and manifestation process, in addition to hard work. He mentioned employing this approach before facing bowlers like James Anderson and Mark Wood in the ongoing series.
“Hard work is there, but I believe in visualization and manifestation. Whatever match or series, one or two weeks prior I start preparation looking at the bowling line-up, who will bowl and how will I play them. I play out the scenarios and it helps,” Jurel explained.
“I visualised that whoever is the bowler, be it Anderson, Mark Wood, Hartley, whatever they bowl, I see their videos where they bowl and where are my zones and how can I hit them,” he elaborated.
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India, having scored 307 in the first innings, saw Ravichandran Ashwin (5/51) and Kuldeep (4/22) team up to dismiss England for 145 in their second innings. In pursuit of 192, India concluded Day 3 at 40/0.
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