Rahul fails as India A flounder bounce test

Dhruv Jurel showcased his sound technique and cool temperament while wickets fell like ninepins at the other end in another shoddy batting display by India A on the opening day of their second four-day game against Australia A.

Jurel (80 off 186 balls), who came to bat in the third over, scored nearly half of India A’s paltry first innings total of 161 in 57.1 overs. The only other batter to cross the 20-run mark was Devdutt Padikkal (26).

Veteran KL Rahul (4), opening the batting, was done in by a peach of a delivery from Scott Boland (1/51 in 15 overs). Michael Neser (4/27 in 12.2 overs), one of the finest and unluckiest among contemporary Australian pacers, dealt a telling blow in the opening over from which India A couldn’t recover.

At stumps, Australia A were 53/2 in reply with Mukesh Kumar again looking the best among the Indian bowlers.

What stood out during the day was Jurel’s composure and ability to play late, using soft hands.

When there was extra bounce, he would quickly loosen his bottom hand grip to ensure that the ball didn’t go to the slip or gully region.

He judged the length perfectly and the flicked six off Boland was a treat to watch.

While Rishabh Pant is the first-choice wicketkeeper batter, Jurel’s ability to leave deliveries on length should put him in a better position than Sarfaraz Khan in the middle-order batter’s role.

It was also the day when one got an indication that India senior team might bank on Rahul’s experience of opening the innings if Rohit Sharma skips a match. However, Boland got him with a perfectly pitched-up delivery that straightened to take his outside edge.