Dhruv Jurel hits back-to-back centuries for India A as pressure piles on Sai Sudharsan ahead of South Africa Tests

The 24-year-old Jurel brought up the milestone in the 86th over of the second innings of the bowling of Tiaan van Vuuren. Jurel took a total of 159 balls to bring up his century. Jurel remained unbeaten on 127 off 170 balls as India A declared their innings at 382/7, setting South Africa A a target of 417 runs.

Earlier, in the first innings, Jurel had managed to score 132 runs off 175 balls with the help of 12 fours and 4 sixes. This effort had helped India A post 255 runs on the board despite being 126/7 at one stage.

On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan had a game to forget with the bat, registering scores of 17 and 23. In the first innings, he was outclassed by the spin of Prenelan Subrayen, while in the second innings, Tiaan van Vuuren got the better of him.

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also reckons that it would be tough for captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir to keep Jurel out considering his performance against South Africa A.

“Dhruv Jurel is making it very hard for the coach and captain to drop him from the Test match coming up. 100’s in both innings of the unofficial test against SA ‘A’. #INDVSA,” Ashwin wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Also Read: Dhruv Jurel hits unbeaten century after KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant flop, India A fight back against South Africa A

Speaking of Jurel, he had recently featured in the two-match Test series against the West Indies at home in the absence of Rishabh Pant. However, considering the latter has regained full fitness, the left-handed batter is expected to start in the playing XI, leaving Jurel's place in limbo.

However, there can be a case for Jurel playing as a frontline batter, considering Sudharsan hasn't set the stage on fire at the No.3 spot. In the two-match series against the Windies, Sudharsan managed 133 runs while Jurel smashed 182 runs, including a 125-run knock in the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Rishabh Pant comes out to bat

The India A captain Pant, who was hit on the body thrice on Day 3, earlier walked off the field to get some medical attention. However, after being attended to by a physio, the left-handed batter came out to bat again as he unleashed some aerial shots, increasing the tempo of the innings.

Pant eventually scored 65 runs off 53 balls with five fours and four sixes in the second innings. Earlier in the first innings, he had managed 24 runs.

Earlier, KL Rahul failed to get going in the second innings once again, after being dismissed for 27 off 60 balls. In the first innings, he departed back to the hut after scoring 19 off 40 balls.

The first Test between India and South Africa will begin on Friday, November 14 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. For the series against the Proteas, India brought in Akash Deep in the place of Prasidh Krishna as well.

India squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep

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