Wicketkeeper batsman Dhruv Jurel displayed a good example of his skill of playing with his excellent technique and composure but other batsmen of India A were seen struggling on a bouncy pitch on the first day of the second four-day cricket match against Australia A here on Thursday.
India A team, batting first, was all out for 161 runs in 57.1 overs. Almost half of these runs were scored by Jurel (80 runs on 186 balls), who came to bat in the third over. Apart from him, the other batsman who crossed the 20-run mark was Devdutt Padikkal (26).
Like Jurel, KL Rahul, who came here specially to play in this match, again failed and was dismissed by Scott Boland after scoring only four runs. Michael Neser, one of Australia’s best fast bowlers, took four wickets for 27 runs. He gave a huge blow to India in the very first over from which the Indian team could not recover till the end.
At the time of stumps, Australia A had scored 53 runs for two wickets in reply. Mukesh Kumar again looked the best among the Indian bowlers. The highlight of the first day was Jurel’s innings. He not only batted patiently on a bouncy pitch but also assessed the length correctly. His six on Boland was a sight to behold.
Rishabh Pant is the first-choice wicketkeeper batsman in the Indian team, but Jurel has staked his claim as a middle-order batsman for the five-Test series against Australia starting on November 22. He can be taken in the final eleven in place of Sarfaraz Khan.
Rahul may not be able to play but if Rohit Sharma is unable to play in the first Test match against Australia, then the team management can show confidence in him as an opening batsman because another contender for this place, Abhimanyu Easwaran, will again be in trouble in the conditions here. Failed and returned to the pavilion without opening the account.
