Dhruv Jurel, India’s star from the 4th Test, has revealed that he could not sleep Saturday night as his team battled against England in Ranchi.
India’s latest wicketkeeping sensation Dhruv Jurel has revealed that he had trouble sleeping the night his team was in trouble and staring down the bottom of the barrel. At stumps on Day 2, India were reeling at 219/7, adrift England’s first-innings total of 353. Jurel, unbeaten on 30, was the last recognised batter remaining, with Kuldeep Yadav – unbeaten on 17 – for company. With India behind by 134 runs and three wickets remaining, another collapse was on the cards.
What a start to international cricket for Dhruv Jurel. (ANI)
Instead, Jurel denied England another shot at glory by putting up a 73-run partnership with Kuldeep, en route to scoring a career-best 90 in just his 2nd Test. He batted brilliantly with the tail to take India to 307, reducing the deficit to 46, when it could have been a lot more. The 22-year-old, speaking to Jio Cinema’s ‘Match Centre Live‘, revealed he couldn’t sleep Saturday night and was consumed in thoughts to help India get closer to 353.
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“I was not able to sleep last night. I was just thinking how I could spend more time in the middle, add runs and help the team. The more runs I scored, the less the team would require while chasing, so that was all I was thinking even while at the wicket today. The most important thing is having faith in the tail-enders. You need to make them feel confident about their batting, stay at the crease and make them believe that this is doable,” he said.
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Jurel emerged as the toast of the nation when he repeated his first-innings heroics in the second and helped take India over the line. As Jurel hit the winning runs and soaked the moment, he and the entire team rejoiced. But there were two more people whose happiness knew no limits: Dhruv’s mother, who sold her jewelry to ensure her son’s dreams were realized, and his father, who battled, digested and endured neighborhood taunts.
Jurel reveals parents’ reaction
“When I was named in the squad, I called my parents and their happiness forced me to put it on social media. My mom doesn’t know much about the game, but she knew it was for India. My mom doesn’t watch a lot of cricket, is scared of me getting out, and she is very emotional. She just knows how many runs I scored and the catches I took,” mentioned Jurel.
“The moment was very precious for me, everything was in slow motion in that moment and I was just staring. My parents were very happy and emotional. Playing Test cricket was a childhood dream and it was coming true. My parents are very spiritual. When I called my dad for the match, he was confused. He said the runs that you score, dedicate it to the Gods.”
