There is no cricket shot more aesthetic then a straight-batted drive down the ground and has been the hallmark of every red-ball player to grace the game. While Dhruv Jurel is a long way off from reaching such echelons, he proved he has the minerals for it on Friday with a textbook drive in Lucknow.
Mumbai seized control of the Irani Cup clash at Ekana Cricket Stadium on Day 4 by bowling out the Rest of India for 416 to take a 121-run first innngs lead. Even though a flurry of late wickets saw the reigning Ranji champions collapse to 134/6 in the second innings, they remained ahead of the game by 274 runs heading into the final day of the encounter. Nevertheless, amidst all the disappointment, the Rest of India still had something to cherish in the form of Dhruv Jurel’s commanding 93 alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran’s 191 to keep the side in the hunt for a victory. One shot in particular from Jurel caught the attention during the counterattacking knock that featured 13 boundaries and a maximum.
Jurel had already brought up 68-ball half-century when Mohit Avasthi ran in to bowl the 89th over. Looking to take the game to the opposition, Jurel had been batting outside his crease and as soon as he saw the straight delivery pitched on a length, his eyes lit up. In one smooth motion, the 24-year-old took a big stride front and across to meet the red cherry with the middle of his bat, and sent it sprawling past the bowler for a spectacular boundary. Jurel was all too aware of the quality of his shot as he held the pose briefly to allow the cameramen to get their clicks but retained a stoic expression all through to show he meant business.
Twitterati was floored by the sheer talent of the Uttar Pradesh batter once again and quickly flooded social media with high praise.
Too good
Yup
Abhishek
Jurel
Tilak https://t.co/qxgkY85m6Z— Gilfoyle (@Niteesh_4) October 4, 2024
If we are losing either Rinku or Harshit then nothing less than Dhruv Jurel or Tilak Verma should be acceptable imo https://t.co/S7mmoTvr4L
— Soloman (@FirmBeliever5) October 4, 2024
Really?
Would pick him over Sarfaraz even as a pure batter
We don’t even need a backup opener for bgt,Gill can easily open and we can play Jurel in MO https://t.co/Dl3luI32fy— Dev (@Googly808) October 4, 2024
Nice
Shams Mulani picked up the wickets of both Abhimanyu Easwaran and Dhruv Jurel in an identical manner !! #RishabhPant #RohitSharma #ViratKohli #AbhimanyuEaswaran #PAKvENG #INDvsNZ #IraniCup #T20WorldCup2024
pic.twitter.com/vBTiZS0b7o— Cricketism (@MidnightMusinng) October 4, 2024
Jurel craze in auction is kinda insane like he not even regular in indian team https://t.co/rVs51SoeXm
— Mid (@Mid4343) October 4, 2024
Brilliant
Mumbai power
When Mumbai batters were struggling in 2nd innings, Prithvi Shaw smashed 76 runs from 105 balls in Irani Cup 🔥
WELL PLAYED, PRITHVI SHAW, KEEP GOING EXPECTING THAT HE MAKE COMEBACK…👏👏#PrithviShaw #IraniCup #Mumbai #INDvsBAN #IndvsNZ #IPLAuction #TestCricket #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/06u9upITB9— Monish (@Monish09cric) October 4, 2024
Fantastic spell Saransh Jain 4/67 (2nd innings).
150 Career Wickets for Saransh Jain (All Formats). #MUMvROI #IraniCup— JaayShaan (VaidhyaJayaShankar) (@JaayShaan) October 4, 2024
