"What impressed me was how he picked length, fast decisions": Alastair Cook on Jurel

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], February 26 (ANI): Following India's win over England in the fourth Test, former England skipper lauded Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel saying he was impressed by the youngster's fast decision-making and how he picked the lengths of the deliveries early. 

Riding on young guns Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel's remarkable efforts with the bat, the hosts crossed the finishing line and clinched the series with a five-wicket victory in the fourth Test against England on Monday. For the third straight time in the series, India managed to get the better of England on Day 4 and the victory gave them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Following the match, Cook said to TNT Sports, "What impressed me was how he picked length. He was so fast at making the right decision. You see his trigger movement – this was at the start of the partnership on a wide ball – but he is so good at getting back and forward and making the right decision at the right time for that ball."

Cook said that Gill played slightly differently and called him a "class player.

"Shubman Gill played slightly differently, he’s not quite as quick on his feet, but he is still a class player but he does a little forward press and if he does need to go forward, he is sharp, he is quick and that little bit more explosion means when he plays a shot he might be able to get a single," said Cook. 

The former batter said that Jadeja struggled under the pressure of quick wickets during the run chase and could not maintain the balance between attacking and defending. He said that the all-rounder should bat a little lower. Cook said that Jurel however was able to find the balance between attacking and defending.

"Jadeja in particular showed probably why he should be batting a little bit lower. Yes, he can score runs but the ability, under pressure, to find that balance between attack and defence under pressure – pressure does funny thing to you. Jadeja is a world-class all-rounder, but batting at five, he struggled in terms of taking no risks because he did not want to get out or try to put a bit of pressure back on as a batter" said Cook. 

"But Jurel found that balance perfectly with his foot movement and sharpness of mind. Jadeja was just dead-batting everything, there is no chance of getting any runs whatsoever. So even when Jurel is defending because he is so sharp when he’s tucking the ball on the leg-side if it is perfect he may get a run." concluded Cook. 

Cook said that the game was lost for England when India started fighting back on day three, starting with a partnership between Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav. The former skipper hailed the the country's depth of talent pool. 

"The game was not lost today, it was lost yesterday. India deserve credit for the fightback. They got back into the game from the position they found themselves in. The collapse would have had panic in the dressing room," said Cook.

"England have had some brilliant opportunities, they won the first Test from a very unlikely position. India did this with younger and different players and that shows the depth of Indian cricket. India have a great system behind them. Jaiswal has been the star of the show, we are going to see so much more of him," he concluded. 

In what was a must-win Test, England chose to bat first after winning the toss and closed their first innings at 353, riding majorly on a fine comeback century by premier batter and former skipper Joe Root (122* in 274 balls, 10 fours), a half-century from Ollie Robinson (58 in 96 balls, with nine fours and a six) and Ben Foakes (47 in 126 balls, with four boundaries and a six).

Ravindra Jadeja (4/67) and Akash Deep (3/83) were the pick of the bowlers for India.

India were bundled out for 307 in their first innings in reply to England’s 353. Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal (73 in 117 balls, with eight fours and a six) firing once again, India were reduced to 219/7 before Jurel (90 in 149 balls, with six fours and four sixes) joined forces with Kuldeep (28 in 131 balls) to stitch a 76-run stand for the eighth wicket and dragged India past the 300-run mark.

Spinner Shoaib Bashir troubled Indian batters, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul (5/119). Tom Hartley (3/68) and James Anderson (2/48) also registered impressive figures. 

The lion-hearted rearguard effort by Jurel, in the company of the lower order, not only lifted India from the dumps but also helped reduce England's first-innings lead to 46 runs. 

In their second innings, England were shot out for just 145 runs, with Zak Crawley (60 in 91 balls, with seven fours) and Jonny Bairstow (30 in 42 balls, with three fours) offering some resistance. Spinners took all the 10 wickets for India, with Ravichandran Ashwin (5/51) and Kuldeep Yadav (4/22) leading the bowling charts for the hosts.

Chasing 192 for an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, the hosts were off to a fine start, with skipper Rohit Sharma (55 in 81 balls, with five fours and a six) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 in 44 balls, with five fours) putting on an 84-run opening stand.

However, that was before Bashir brought the visitors back into the game, picking up 3/79 and reducing India to 120/5.

Thereafter, Shubman Gill (52* in 124 balls, with two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (39* in 77 balls, with two fours) guided India to a series win by five wickets. (ANI)