Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel after the hosts won the fourth Test match against England by five wickets at Ranchi to take an impregnable lead of 3-1 in the series. Jurel joined forces with Gill when India was tottering at 120-5 in the run-chase of 192.
India was given a solid start by their openers – Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal – as they added 84 runs for the opening alliance. But India lost five wickets for only 36 runs and found themselves under pressure.
However, Gill scored a fighting knock of 52 runs whereas Jurel continued his rich form, scoring an unbeaten 39. The duo added 72 runs to help India get over the line in the run-chase.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “72 is a lot of runs. The game was absolutely hanging in the balance because one wicket there and England would have won the match. The match would have come towards India if there was a 40 to 45-run partnership.”
“Shubman Gill has played a lot of good cricket. Till the two sixes in the end, he didn’t hit a single four. He was very good. Some knocks make you mature. You might not have scored a lot of runs in that knock but you do extremely well going forward. This was that knock from Shubman Gill,” Chopra stated.
The renowned commentator added that India’s future is in safe hands with players like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal growing in confidence.
“You know that I rate him very highly. However, after watching this knock, the respect for him grows in your eyes. India’s future is secure. Yashasvi (Jaiswal) is there at the top and Shubman Gill is there alongside him. These are two quality Indian batters who are ready to fight.”
Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel was awarded Player of the Match after returning with scores of 90 and 39. Chopra hailed the youngster for his fine performance.
“Dhruv Jurel was the Player of the Match. What a player. Dhruv Jurel shone like the Dhruv Tara (pole star). To be honest, how did you reach here? There was no way the lead would have been less than 100 but he made it 46. He scored 90 runs and batted extremely well.”
The fifth and final Test match will be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala from March 7
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