Dhruv Jurel's heroics may earn him a spot in India XI for first Test against Australia after rescuing India A from potential defeat

During the match at the MCG in Melbourne, the Indian A team faced difficulties dealing with the pace and bounce of the pitch. However, Dhruv Jurel stood out with his impressive batting performance, scoring another half-century in the second innings. Following his innings-saving 80 in the first innings, Jurel played a counter-attacking knock of 68 runs in India A's second innings. His contribution ensured that the team had a competitive score to defend in Melbourne.

Coming in for Ishan Kishan, who was the wicketkeeper for the first of the match in Mackay, Jurel is attempting to make a case for himself as a batting option for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While Jurel is part of the squad for the marquee series, he will be looking to break into the first team proper with the Perth Test on the horizon.

With question marks over the number six position in the Indian batting lineup, with no player having locked down the position as their own, Jurel has well and truly thrown his hat into the ring to be a starter at the Optus Stadium in Perth. KL Rahul has looked shaky in recent Test matches, while incumbent Sarfaraz Khan has no experience in overseas conditions and does have question marks regarding his play against express pace.

In Melbourne, Jurel came in in the first innings with the score at 11-4, and played a rebuilding innings with Devdutt Paddikal and the tail to drag India to a competitive 161.

Jurel was also very good with the gloves, in particular taking a remarkable catch of Jimmy Peirson off the bowling of Prasidh Krishna.

In the second innings, Jurel once again came in with India A in trouble, at 44-4 and still in a deficit. Jurel saw India into day three, where he started to attack Australia’s bowling alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy and Tanush Kotian, with a cameo by Krishna taking India to a very solid 229 on a tricky MCG wicket.

Jurel made his Test debut earlier this year, playing the final three Tests of the series against England and putting up solid performances, including a player-of-the-match performance in Ranchi, where he scored a crucial 90. However, he is seen more as an understudy to Rishabh Pant with the gloves, even temporarily stepping in to keep wickets during the New Zealand series when Pant was injured.

Nevertheless, this performance in Australia might give Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma something to think about. With Pant set to take the gloves, Jurel would likely play as an outfielder. While Jurel's quality with the bat alone might be enough to thrust him into consideration, but India will also be considering Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has shown good performances with both bat and ball in this series so far.