Dhruv Jurel underlined his growing stature in red-ball cricket with a fluent 96 off 122 balls as Uttar Pradesh mounted a spirited fightback on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Group A clash against Vidarbha in Nagpur on Thursday.
Jurel’s knock, laced with 11 boundaries, ended in heartbreak with the 25-year-old falling just four runs short of what would have been his sixth first-class hundred.
However, Jurel’s innings proved decisive in steering Uttar Pradesh to a competitive 237 after early setbacks at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
Walking in at No. 5 with the visitors reeling at 47/3, Jurel found himself amid a collapse that deepened soon after with the dismissal of Aditya Sharma, leaving Uttar Pradesh at 54/4.
Showing composure under pressure, Dhruv Jurel, part of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), stabilised the innings alongside Siddharth Yadav, with the pair adding crucial 43 runs for the fifth wicket.
Siddharth departed at 93/5, followed shortly by Shivam Sharma as the scoreboard read 109/6.
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Unfazed by the wickets tumbling at the other end, Jurel switched gears smartly and found support in Shivam Mavi. The duo stitched together a crucial 92-run stand for the seventh wicket, lifting the total from 109/6 to 201/7.
Jurel eventually perished in the 63rd over while attempting to shepherd the tail.
Playing his first Ranji Trophy match of the season, Jurel carried forward the rich form he displayed in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he amassed 558 runs at an average of 93.00 and a strike rate of 122.90.
In the Indian Premier League, Jurel has featured in 42 matches for Rajasthan Royals, scoring 680 runs at an average of 28.33 and a strike rate of 153.85.
