Wicketkeeper batter Dhruv Jurel entered a special list of Indian wicketkeepers as he slammed his maiden Test century during the second day of the first match against West Indies on Friday, October 3. Dhruv Jurel, playing in place of the injured Rishabh Pant, hit his first international century for India during the opening Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
With his 190-ball century, Dhruv Jurel has become just the third Indian wicketkeeper batter to have scored a century against the West Indies at home, joining the likes of MS Dhoni and Farokh Engineer. Former India captain Dhoni had scored 144 in 2011 during the Kolkata Test, while ex-wicketkeeper Engineer had slammed 109 against the Windies way back in 1967 during the Chennai Test.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh-born Dhruv Jurel has become the 12th Indian wicketkeeper to have scored a ton in Test cricket and is the fifth to have scored their maiden Test ton against the Windies.
Indians to score maiden Test ton against West Indies:Â
1 – Vijay Manjrekar
2 – Farookh Engineer
3 – Ajay Ratra
4 – Wriddhiman Saha
5Â – Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel was the second Indian batter to have hit a hundred during the Ahmedabad Test after opener KL Rahul had slammed his 10th ton at the top of the order. Rahul’s 10 tons as opener are the fourth most by an Indian player at the top of the order, only behind Sunil Gavaskar (33), Virender Sehwag (22) and Murali Vijay (12).
India have bossed the first innings with the bat after bowling the Windies out for 162. Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja took India’s lead past 200 as the hosts continued their dominance.
Team India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel revealed that he dedicated his maiden Test century to the Indian Army. Stepping up in the absence of the injured Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel seized his chance in the playing XI and made a commanding impact against the West Indies. Displaying remarkable composure, he scored 125 runs, which was embellished with 15 boundaries and three sixes.
He was amongst the three centurions on Day 2 of the Ahmedabad Test, with India taking complete control at stumps with 448/5 at stumps and a 286-run lead over the Windies.
Dhruv Jurel and Jadeja put on 206 runs for the fifth wicket for an imposing fifth-wicket stand. The partnership ended when Jurel, who smacked 15 fours and three sixes, got an inside edge off Khary Pierre late in the day to be caught behind for the West Indies debutant’s maiden wicket in Tests.
Apart from his stellar batting, 24-year-old Dhruv Jurel’s celebrations after reaching his fifty and then his hundred grabbed everyone’s attention. The army salute was a tribute to the Indian army and his father, who is a Kargil war veteran. Following his stupendous maiden century in Test cricket, Former Indian batter and commentator Aakash Chopra is in all praise of Dhruv Jurel for his performance and indicates a bright future for him.
Aakash Chopra has a massive praise for Dhruv Jurel after his scintillating 125 vs WI
Former India opener Aakash Chopra reckons that Dhruv Jurel has the ability to play as a specialist Test batter. He opined that his keeping skills should be seen as an added advantage instead of coming in the way of his selection in the playing XI.
Team India continued their domination on Day 2 of the first Test against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, October 3. Resuming their first innings on 121-2, they went to stumps at 448-5, with a lead of 286 runs. Apart from Jurel (125), KL Rahul (100) and Ravindra Jadeja (104*) also hit hundreds, while skipper Shubman Gill scored exactly 50.
Dhruv Jurel got a chance to feature in the playing XI since Rishabh Pant hasn’t recovered fully from the injury he sustained during the England tour. The 24-year-old had also kept wickets in The Oval Test after Pant was ruled out. Speaking after the second day’s play in Ahmedabad, former India opener Chopra asserted that Dhruv Jurel is good enough to play as a frontline batter if he is not picked as a keeper-batter.
“He definitely can. The way he has batted, he has shown that he has the ability. Whenever he has got the opportunity to bat, he has demonstrated that his ability is no less than that of a top-order batter. The fact that he is a keeper is a skill that should go in his favor. It should not go against him. Jurel can definitely play as a specialist batter,” Chopra told ESPN Cricinfo.
Coming into bat at No. 5 in the Ahmedabad Test against West Indies on Friday, Dhruv Jurel scored 125 off 210 balls, hitting 15 fours and three sixes. The keeper-batter featured in a 206-run stand for the fifth wicket with Jadeja.
The ongoing match against West Indies in Ahmedabad is Dhruv Jurel’s sixth Test for India. So far, he has played only one match as a specialist batter. Both Pant and Dhruv Jurel were part of the playing XI in the first Test against Australia in Perth in November 2024. The latter, however, struggled against some high-quality bowling. He scored 11 in the first innings and was trapped lbw for one in the second.
Looking at his overall Test stats in a short career so far, the right-handed batter has scored 380 runs in nine innings at an average of 47.50, with one hundred and one fifty to his name.
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