India A’s Dhruv Jurel.
Credit: PTI Photo
Dhruv Jurel strengthened his reputation as a specialist batter with a brilliant unbeaten hundred his second of the game while the impressive Harsh Dubey’s batting abilities came to the fore as India drove towards a commanding position on day three of the second four-day game at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence here on Saturday.
Jurel (127 n.o., 170b, 15x4, 1x6) scored his fourth first-class hundred, Vidarbha all-rounder Dubey (84, 116b, 12x4, 1x6) registered his ninth first-class half-century and the flamboyant Rishabh Pant (65, 54b, 5x4, 4x6) steered India to 382/7 decl in 89.2 overs to set a 417-run target for South Africa A.
At stumps, South Africa A were 25 for no loss in 11 overs with Jordan Hermann (15 not out) and Lesego Senokwane (9 not out), with the visitors still needing 392 on the final day.
Having returned to bat after a brief injury scare, Pant carved out a knock for the gallery, with his hand-eye coordination a hallmark of his game yet again taking centre stage as he stitched an 82-run partnership off 54 balls with his Indian Test back-up Jurel.
Earlier on, when Pant walked back to the pavilion having copped a few blows and Kuldeep Yadav (16, 54b, 2x4) was dismissed at 116 for the loss of five, it looked like the visitors were in with a chance to bowl India A out cheaply.
However, in Jurel and Dubey, India A found a partnership that handled the pressure and stitched a 184-run stand, facing 250 balls and batting for exactly three hours.
There was not much on offer for the bowlers and Jurel used it to his advantage and continued to impress the Indian selectors and team management, reaching his fourth first-class hundred in 159 balls with a flick through mid-wicket in the final session.
On the other hand, Dubey, who has had a good domestic season with the ball, showed off his batting skills and reached his fifty in 76 balls. He survived a few shouts, but nothing convincing for the umpire to raise his finger.
If the first session honours were shared, the South African bowlers were put through the sword in the second and third.
Resuming from their overnight score of 78/3, India A had an early hiccup when KL Rahul (27) was sent back after adding just a run to his overnight score, having completely misread the line off Okuhle Cele.
While the surface did not look as green as it did on the first two days, but still had enough for the fast bowlers to extract in the first hour of play.
Pant, however, batted in his customary style, trying to play shots all around. While he managed to smash two fours and dispatch one out of the ground, the early morning harvest ended when he copped one to the abdomen and had to walk back, retired hurt on 17.
He also had the physio rushing from the dressing room twice before. First, when he looked to reverse hook a short ball, and then, attempting a regulation pull, both of Tshepo Moreki.
Kuldeep’s patience eventually gave in as he stepped down the track to Subrayen, only to hit it to Temba Bavuma at mid-on.