Colombo Test: Patience pays for Jurel as he grinds to timely century

Dhruv Jurel, the standby wicketkeeper for India in red-ball cricket, had looked every inch the Test material ever since his debut with a depleted side in a home Test against England in 2024. Rishabh Pant was still out recovering from that life-threatening car crash and Virat Kohli had taken a break for personal reasons, but the Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter settled down in no time with a patient 46.

He was again rewarded for his patience with a second Test century in the final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo — one that may have come in 171 balls but will reinforce his claim in the lower order as India have a number of key series to play in trying to stay in the reckoning for a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The significance of his effort in both Tests in Sri Lanka lies in the fact that he had Sarfaraz Khan breathing down his neck for the spot as the Mumbaikar was sent a SoS after Sai Sudarshan was ruled out of the series with a toe injury.

Sent in ahead of senior allrounder Ravindra Jadeja in both innings at Galle, Jurel scored 51 at no. 6 but was dismissed cheaply in the second innings when the visitors folded up below the 200-mark. The luck of the toss favoured Shubman Gill in Colombo as well, and the Indians looked determined this time to not bat a second time — a mission achieved when they declared at 503/9 on a rain-curtailed second day.   

It was a disciplined batting performance by India with a back-to-back century by Devdutt Padikkal at number three, fifties by the skipper and his deputy Rishabh Pant and 43 by Jadeja, with Jurel piling up valuable runs at the bottom, which may prove useful in the end. Resuming at 300/5 on day two, they lost newcomer Saransh Jain soon but Pant came back to bat after retiring hurt earlier and dug India out of a somewhat tricky situation in the first session.

This was Jurel’s second Test century after his 125 against the West Indies last year. In the build-up to the first Test, there was a time when Sarfaraz looked to have his nose ahead of Jurel thanks to his reputation as a better player of spin, and Jurel was not among the runs in recent matches. However, the 25-year-old grabbed the opportunity with his application and technique and is back where he belongs.

If the second day belonged to India, it ushered in some unsavoury — though expected — news for Jurel’s Rajasthan Royals teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has fined the often temperamental opener 25 per cent of his match fees and added one demerit point, as with Sri Lanka seamer Avisha Fernando. Both players were found guilty of breaching Article 2.12 which covers 'inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person' during an international match.

The incident happened after the final ball of the 17th over, just before lunch on Sunday, 23 August. Jaiswal was dismissed after a short ball from Fernando jagged back into him and took an inside edge onto the stumps, moments after the India opener had smashed the bowler for three consecutive boundaries.

Jaiswal began walking towards the pavilion but suddenly turned back and charged at Fernando, sparking a heated exchange before the two made head-to-head contact. An ICC statement said: 'Fernando moved his head towards Jaiswal during the heated altercation' and in response, 'Jaiswal leaned in, resulting in their heads making contact'. Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva and other players intervened before the confrontation could escalate further.