India A and England Lions kicked off the four-match tour with a draw in the first two-day match on Saturday, January 13. Indian batters dominated the game by scoring a total of 462/8 on Day 2 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium 2 Ground in reply to England's 233.
Rajat Patidar made the biggest impact by scoring a sensational hundred while Sarfaraz Khan and KS Bharat shone with big fifties. India's new pick Dhruv Jurel also contributed by scoring a 38-ball fifty to make the headlines in the closing stages of the game. Jurel's quickfire knock included three sixes and five fours which boosted India's run rate past five.
The 22-year-old Uttar Pradesh cricketer was a surprise pick when the Indian team announced their squad for the upcoming Test series against England on Friday. Jurel has been selected alongside KL Rahul and KS Bharat as specialist wicketkeepers for the first two Test matches starting on January 25 in Hyderabad.
Jurel, who boasts impressive numbers in List A and First Class cricket, first emerged to the scenes during the IPL 2023. He has been a regular part of the India A squad recently and scored fifty against the South Africa A side last month.
He continued that momentum by scoring a fifty against Kerala in the first Ranji Trophy 2024 game and now adds another half-century to justify his selection to the national side. Jurel also donned the wicketkeeping gloves against England Lions ahead of KS Bharat which displays the management's trust in him.
India A XI: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Pradosh Paul, Sarfaraz Khan, Srikar Bharat, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Tushar Deshpande, Navdeep Saini, Akash Deep, Pulkit Narang, Vidhwath Kaverappa
England Lions XI: Keaton Jennings, Alex Lees, Josh Bohannon (c), Dan Mousley, Oliver Price, James Rew (wk), Kasey Aldridge, Tom Lawes, Brydon Carse, James Coles, Jack Carson, Matthew Fisher, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Oliver Robinson
