Dhruv Jurel hits unbeaten century after KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant flop, India A fight back against South Africa A

Dhruv Jurel continued his strong run of form against the red ball, backing up his maiden Test century last month with a ton in the warm-up game vs South Africa.

Dhruv Jurel continues to make a case for himself as a fixture in India’s plans in the longest format of the sport, as he marked the second India A vs South Africa A match in Bengaluru with a century in the lead up to the full Test series later this month. Jurel scored 132* off 175 deliveries in a rescue act that helped India to a fighting first innings score of 255.

Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant share the crease during India A's match vs South Africa A in Bengaluru. (PTI)

Jurel came in at number 4 at the Centre for Excellence Ground in Bengaluru, after the top order had collapsed to 59/4. This included the wickets of Abhimanyu Easwaran on a duck and Devdutt Padikkal on 5, hampering the odds of both players who are hopeful to be involved in the team, as well as KL Rahul on 19 and Sai Sudharsan on 17 respectively.

Rishabh Pant, who is leading the team during this A series, couldn’t back up his match-winning 90 from the first match of this series. He was dismissed for 24 after trying to take the counter-attack to South Africa’s bowlers, leaving Jurel to do the hard work alongside the lower order.

Jurel ensured he maintained the majority of the strike for the remainder of the innings, batting excellently along with the tail and showing excellent composure. He also showed off his power-hitting abilities in spurts, hitting 12 fours and four sixes enroute to his score in Bengaluru.

Jurel provided lower order support by Kuldeep Yadav

Jurel received good support from Kuldeep Yadav, who showed his chops with the bat upn his return from India’s touring team in Australia with an 88-ball knock for 20. His hand in a 79-run partnership for the eighth wicket ensured India had some runs on the board, while Kuldeep also made a case for his own ability with the bat in hand.

Left-arm seamer Tiaan van Vuuren did the damage for the Proteas with 4 wickets, including the scalp of KL Rahul early in the innings.

The wicketkeeper batter gave a good account of himself while playing deputy to the injured Rishabh Pant during the series against the West Indies, scoring his maiden Test century. Given his impressive start to life in Test cricket, he will have designs on earning a extended role in the team as a designated batter.