New Delhi . In the second Test match being played in Colombo against Sri Lanka, Dhruv Jurel performed brilliantly with the bat and scored an unbeaten 115 runs. This was Jurel's second century of his Test career. However, what is being discussed more than his brilliant innings is the manner in which he celebrated after completing his century. As soon as he completed his century, Jurel first saluted and then showed the Jai Jawan Jai Kisan tattoo on his biceps. His celebration was not just a way of expressing happiness on the field but also an emotional moment of paying respect to his family roots.
Jurel himself told that behind his special tattoo and salute, the story of his father and grandfather is connected. He said that his grandfather was a farmer while his father had been in the army. This is the reason why he has inscribed these two important roots of his life forever on his body in the form of Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. According to Jurel, the salute given after the century was for his father and grandfather. After his revelation his celebration became even more special.
Jurel batted with great patience and intelligence in the match. He looked quite comfortable till 99 runs but as he approached the century, the Sri Lankan bowlers increased the pressure. At the score of 99, Asitha Fernando bowled a good length and the fielding was also made very tight. Jurel played a straight shot on a ball and he thought that the ball would go into the gap before the fielder. But when he saw the fielder rapidly coming towards the ball, he realized that he would have to use all his strength to score one run. Jurel ran and dived to complete his century.
During this innings, Jurel also got excellent support from Rishabh Pant. Together they made an important partnership of 112 runs. Pant scored 63 runs in his aggressive style while Jurel strengthened the innings by batting according to the conditions. Jurel admitted that he gets to learn a lot from an experienced player like Pant. While batting, he also kept taking advice from Pant regarding different situations.
Jurel also made it clear that he does not try to bat like Pant. According to him, every player has his own natural style and the beauty of Test cricket lies in the fact that the player plays according to his own style. In his batting, Jurel emphasized on understanding against which bowler to attack and whose spell to play with caution.
At the end of the day, Jurel also took over the responsibility of wicketkeeping due to Pant's right shoulder problem. Jurel said that the team is keeping an eye on Pant's fitness and it is expected that he will be fully fit soon. Meanwhile, Mohammad Siraj also played an important role in Jurel's innings. Siraj supported Jurel for 29 balls and gave him a chance to complete his century.
The Indian team declared the innings on the second day at the score of 9 wickets for 503 runs. After this, Sri Lanka's innings faltered and by the end of the day's play, its two wickets had fallen for just 8 runs. But the most memorable picture of the entire day was Dhruv Jurel's century and the salute that followed, which wrote a beautiful story of a son and grandson paying respect to their family roots on the cricket field.