Dhruv Jurel, alongside captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, spearheaded the Rest of India team's counterattack against the Mumbai cricket team at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow in the Irani Cup 2024 on Friday.
The Irani Cup is a prestigious annual domestic cricket competition in India. The match is traditionally played between the Ranji Trophy champions – the team that wins India’s premier first-class domestic competition – and the Rest of India team, which consists of standout players from across the country.
Put into bat first, Mumbai scored a mammoth 537 in the first innings, led by Sarfaraz Khan’s unbeaten double century. He was ably supported by captain Ajinkya Rahane, who fell three runs short of a ton, along with fifties from Shreyas Iyer and Tanush Kotian.
Tanush Kotian’s knock was key for Mumbai’s huge total. He came out to bat when the team was at 280/6. From there, he forged a 183-run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan for the seventh wicket in just 249 balls at a strike rate of 73.49.
While Sarfaraz went on the attack, Kotian’s measured 64 took 124 balls and included six fours.
Mukesh Kumar spearheaded the bowling for Rest of India with a five-wicket haul, while Yash Dayal and Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets each.
In response, Rest of India scored 416 in their first innings, headlined by Abhimanyu Easwaran’s 191. Dhruv Jurel, a member of the Rajasthan Royals team in the Indian Premier League, was the only other batter to cross the fifty-run mark. He scored 93 (121b, 13x4, 1x6) at a healthy strike rate of 76.85.
Along with Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel was involved in a 165-run stand for the fifth wicket in just 252 deliveries.
Over the course of the innings, Jurel passed the 1000-run mark in first-class cricket.
Rest of India were cruising at 393/4 when Jurel's dismissal triggered a dramatic collapse, with the team losing their last six wickets for just 23 runs. Shams Mulani (3/122) and Tanush Kotian (3/101) both ended with three wickets each, with Kotian also contributing to a run-out.
The Mumbai vs Rest of India Irani Cup 2024 match will conclude on Saturday.
