India’s heroes on Day 3, Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav opened up on their game-changing partnership as the hosts aim to win the fourth Test at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi.
India started the day at 219 for 7 with Jurel and Kuldeep in the middle. Jurel smashed his maiden Test half-century and was ably supported by Kuldeep at the other end as India ended with 307 runs on the board in their first innings.
IND vs ENG, 4th Test: Scorecard
Speaking in a video released by the BCCI, Kuldeep heaped praise on Jurel’s knock, saying he felt comfortable batting with him since they’ve played together before. The two batter stitched a 77-run stand for the 8th wicket to steer India out of trouble on Day 3.
“His father is in the Army, so he dedicated his fifty to his father. The thing about him is if you keep speaking with him, he remains calm and relaxed. I had a lot of belief in him since I’ve played with him before and I know how he bats,” said Kuldeep.
“I thought he’ll complete the hundred. But obviously he played a very good knock and that was important for the team. His maiden hundred could be in the next game or the one after that,” Kuldeep added.
Speaking about his bowling performance on Day 3, Kuldeep said the four wickets that he picked were very important. Kuldeep dismissed Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes, Tom Hartley and Ollie Robinson as England were bowled out for 145 runs.
“Obviously, when you pick four wickets, you have hope of completing the five-wicket haul. The four wickets were very important ones, so I am happy with that,” said Kuldeep.
Meanwhile, Jurel said he wasn’t thinking about milestone while batting, adding that he felt comfortable batting with Kuldeep. Jurel scored 90 runs off 149 deliveries to register his maiden Test fifty, having missed out on a debut half-century after falling for 46 runs in the third Test in Rajkot.
“The most important thing was that I was very comfortable batting with him. He is also from Uttar Pradesh and so am I. I wasn’t thinking about milestones when I was batting. I was only thinking about staying in the middle for as long as possible, which will be beneficial for the team. This is my first series for India and I wish to win the series with the team,” said Jurel.
On Day 4, India will start off at 40 for no loss, needing 152 more runs to win the match and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match Test series against England.
