Third Test Lunch Report: IND vs. ENG: Ashwin and Jurel Stay Strong After England Removes Overnight Pair

Third Test Lunch Report: IND vs. ENG: Ashwin and Jurel Stay Strong After England Removes Overnight Pair

England got off to another perfect start to the day, taking out Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in consecutive overs during the first thirty minutes of play. During the lunch break on Day 2 of the 3rd Test in Rajkot, debutant Dhruv Jurel and Ravichandran Ashwin worked together to bring India closer through an uninterrupted 57-run stand. At 331/7, the 400-run mark seemed quite far away.

After Kuldeep Yadav was caught off guard by James Anderson on 4, Jurel entered. After that, Jurel observed from the other end as Joe Root made a return catch to dismiss centurion Ravindra Jadeja on 112, who appeared to have lost his mind after reaching his century.

On a pitch that still looks favorable for batting, India adopted a cautious strategy. That might have also been partially caused by the two blows they took at the beginning of the session, though.

Root made a sharp catch over his shoulders when Jadeja’s bat turned inwards towards his pads while trying to play the ball on the on-side. Jadeja was dismissed shortly after the play started, but not before he joined nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav (4) in the dressing room following the latter’s dismissal of Anderson.

𝗗𝗵𝗿𝘂𝘃 𝗝𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹 – 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀!

Being named in the Test squad 🙂
Day 1 jitters with #TeamIndia 😬
Finding his seat in the bus 🚌

Jurel is a mixed bag of fun & emotions!#INDvENG | @dhruvjurel21 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/WQryiDhdHG

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 14, 2024

With four wickets left to go, the 41-year-old seamer will have taken the fewest 700 wickets of any fast bowler in the history of the game. With regards to balls faced, this is Jadeja’s second-longest innings in the format and his second-highest score in Test cricket.

In the first essay on a forgiving track at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, India must add as many runs as possible. The double blows at the same team score of 331 forced new batsmen Ashwin and Jurel to drop anchor and form a partnership.

In the beginning, Ashwin appeared busier than his younger colleague and made a few clean drives to get things going, but he made a mistake that led to on-field umpire Joe Wilson penalizing the Indian team five runs. Consequently, England will begin their first innings at 5/0 without having bowled a ball.

Jadeja received the first warning of this kind on the first day of operation after committing the same offense. While Jurel’s first-ever boundary in international cricket showed promise of a fine aggressive batter, he did a fine job in his maiden outing, which started with a few dot balls and a single to get his first Test runs.

Also Read: Dhruv Jurel: The 13-year-old Son of the Kargil War Veteran Who Traveled by Train by Himself from Lucknow to Achieve His Dream of Being in India

Wood gave Jurel a short delivery, but the 23-year-old’s deft hands sent the ball flying over the slip cordon for his first six in major league cricket, with a speed of just over 146 kmph.

At the halfway point, Ashwin had reached 25 not out from 64 balls with four hits to the fence, while Jurel was on 31 not out from 71 balls with two fours and a six.