Dhruv Jurel hit his second Test century during the second game against Sri Lanka on Monday. The Indian team is currently touring the neighboring nation for a two-game Test series. After recording a huge win in the first game at Galle, both sides locked horns for the second and the last game of the tour at SSC, Colombo. On Day 2 of the series, Jurel recorded his second Test hundred and pushed the side to 482 runs with the loss of eight wickets in a rain-hit game. After calling it a day at 300 runs with the loss of five wickets, Jurel and debutant Saransh Jain resumed batting on Monday at 7 and 4 runs, respectively.
While Jain could only manage to score 6 runs, and players kept changing on one end, Jurel stood firm and went on to post a gritty fifty before converting it into a hundred, only the second of his career in the unlimited format. The batter utilised 171 deliveries to reach the feat, and would have reached the milestone earlier had rain not played a spoilsport, prompting to call an early tea break. Jurel celebrated the milestone by punching the air, removing his helmet, and showing his new tattoo on his bicep that read, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (All hail to soldiers, all hail to farmers).
Mohammed Siraj, who was on the other end, hugged Jurel, while the Indian dressing room erupted in celebrations.
Dhruv Jurel Becomes Only Second Indian Batter to Record Test Hundred From No. 7 or Lower in Sri Lanka
As Jurel recorded an impressive hundred, and pushed the side to 450+ runs in the second Test, he achieved another record. Jurel is now the only second batter to hit a ton in the longest format from No. 7 or lower for India in Sri Lanka. Before him, only Hardik Pandya could come up with the feat when he hit a 108 at Pallekele in 2017. As per Cricbuzz, "The last Test hundred from No.7 or lower for India in Tests was Nitish Kumar Reddy's 114 at the MCG in December 2024."
Jurel built some crucial partnerships, including a 112-run stand along with Rishabh Pant for the sixth wicket. In addition to it, Jurel also took the third highest number of balls by an Indian to reach hundred from 99 with 13 deliveries. The two players ahead of him are Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay with 15 and 14 deliveries, respectively.
The Indian crossed the 500-run mark and declared innings 503 at the loss of nine wickets. The last batter to get dismissed was Mohammed Siraj at three runs, while Prasidh Krishna remained not out at 4 runs in 7 deliveries. In the second innings, Jurel donned the gloves instead of Rishabh Pant, while the SSC staff juggled with the weather that kept changing every few minutes.
