India went all the way ahead of Sri Lanka at Colombo on the second day of the second Test with Dhruv Jurel scoring an unbeaten century.
Jurel concentrated on scoring 115 off 117, which along with Shubman Gill’s 141, helped India reach 503 for 9 before the declaration. His hard-hitting lower-order hitting was a big help in an innings that was already making history with Devdutt’s century.
When India needed runs, Jurel delivered.
India’s top order were looking to get the total past the 500 mark when Jurel joined the fray at No. 7. His century arrived at an impressive pace, providing India with much needed runs and putting Sri Lanka under a lot of pressure.
This was Jurel’s second Test century and a pivotal part of his climb up the ladder as an international wicketkeeper-batter.
He also had a place in Indian cricket history for his score. Sri Lanka has never seen another Indian make a Test century off No. 7.
The wicket of Hardik Pandya went down.
Prior to Jurel’s hundred, Hardik Pandya was the only player who had scored a lower-order Test century in Sri Lanka.
Pandya has played 208 runs in 88 deliveries at No.8 at Pallekele during the Indian tour in 2017. Jurel was able to repeat the kind of success that Pandya boasted and then some with his unbeaten 115.
With his 200, Jurel joins the exclusive club of Indian batters in the 70+ ranking who are able to score a century after Sri Lanka. MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev are also her members.
Amongst those Indian performances, just Ravindra Jadeja’s 175 at Mohali and Kapil Dev’s 163 at Kanpur are better.
It’s rare to achieve in life.In life, few things are achieved.
It was also a record-breaking period for Jurel, who also got his name in a very short list at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.
He was the fourth visitor to score a century from 7 or below at the iconic ground. Daniel Vettori, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Salman Ali Agha are the other players to achieve the feat.
| Player | Score | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Vettori | 140 | New Zealand | 2009 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | 103 | Pakistan | 2014 |
| Salman Ali Agha | 132* | Pakistan | 2023 |
| Dhruv Jurel | 115* | India | 2026 |
Jurel became the first Indian and only the third Asian to make it to that SSC list.
Sri Lanka is under pressure from India.India is putting Sri Lanka under pressure.
Sri Lanka were presented with a mammoth first innings task in India’s 503 for 9. Jurel’s unbeaten shot of a century contributed a lot in helping India go past the 500 mark.
The outcome also leaves India in a strong position, as they head towards a series clinching win. With his latest performance, Jurel has now added a huge one to his already impressive Test career.
