Dhruv Jurel made a solid start with the bat in the two-match SL vs IND Test 2026 series by scoring a fifty for the Indian cricket team on Day 2 of the opening game against Sri Lanka in Galle on Sunday.
The right-handed batter played a fluent knock, hitting four fours and a six en route to 51 off 68 balls at a healthy strike rate of 75 at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.
Walking in to bat at No. 6 with India in a strong position at 319/4 on a rainy day, Dhruv Jurel got off the mark immediately and settled into his innings with ease.
He rotated the strike well and found the odd boundary with ease, including a six off spinner Keshara Nuwantha over deep midwicket in the final session.
The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batter brought up his fifty with a couple, glancing the ball fine to long leg, before departing soon after as Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva held a stunning one-handed catch at slip off Prabath Jayasuriya to end Jurel’s knock.
Dhruv Jurel’s half-century, the third-highest score in India’s innings, along with his 55-run partnership with Manav Suthar, helped India cross the 400-run mark. India were well-placed at 432/7 after Jurel lost his wicket.
The knock was Jurel’s second half-century in Test cricket and his first score of 50 or more outside India.
Jurel, who was Rajasthan Royals’ second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2026 with 515 runs in 16 matches, also has a Test century to his name, having scored 125 against the West Indies last year.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who is featuring as a specialist batter against Sri Lanka in Galle, has now amassed 529 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 35.27.
Meanwhile, his Royals teammates Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja managed scores of 32 and 13, respectively, in the first innings.
India finished the day on 460/9, with Devdutt Padikkal top-scoring for the visitors with 167 off 230 balls.
