On Friday, May 19, the Rajasthan Royals defeated the Punjab Kings by four wickets in a dramatic last over match. Dhruv Jurel shot a six to seal this victory. RR remained in the tournament and is now ranked fifth. PBKS is out of contention for a Playoff position and is presently ranked eighth in the IPL Points Table.
PBKS batted first at home and finished their 20 overs with a respectable score of 187/5. Half centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 runs off 36 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (51 runs off 30 balls) provided RR with a solid platform.
Shimron Hetmyer (46 runs off 28 balls) and Riyan Parag (20 runs off 12 balls) made rapid cameos to keep RR in the chase. Royals continued to lose wickets which brought the game very close. When RR needed 5 runs off 3 balls, Dhruv Jurel (10* runs off 4 balls) secured the victory with a six.
Dhruv Jurel has proven to be the perfect finisher for the Rajasthan Royals this season. He has made some spectacular cameos in the end. He has scored 152 runs with a strike rate of 172.73 in 13 matches.
Here are three occasions when Dhruv Jurel demonstrated his ability as a finisher in IPL 2023:
1) RR vs GT, 2023 (18 runs off 10 balls)
RR were in trouble at 55/4 after 10.3 overs while chasing 178 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Sanju Samson (60 runs off 32 balls) and Shimron Hetmyer (56* runs off 26 balls) kept them in the hunt through their half-centuries. Dhruv Jurel, who was making his IPL debut, delivered an outstanding contribution that helped his team win.
Jurel (18 runs off 10 balls) hit two boundaries and one six in a 180 strike rate knock. In the end, Ravichandran Ashwin (10 runs off 3 balls) and Hetmyer led their side to ensure that the youngster’s heroics were not in vain.
2) RR vs RCB, 2023 (34* runs off 16 balls)
Dhruv Jurel played another outstanding innings in his third IPL game, with RR requiring 61 runs in 24 balls. His knock had an amazing strike-rate of 212.50. The kid hit two boundaries and two sixes.
The most impressive element of the youngster’s performance was that he was not slogging the ball, but instead played excellent cricketing strokes. He found gaps in the field. His valiant efforts were in vain, as RCB won the match by a slim 7-run margin. However, this inning demonstrated that the child has the potential and mindset to do great things.
3) RR vs CSK, 2023 (34 runs off 15 balls)
The 22 year old impressed MS Dhoni, when playing against the Chennai Super Kings. Jurel (34 runs off 15 balls) batted brilliantly at home, propelling his team to a total of more than 200 runs. He hit three fours and two sixes in a 226.67 strike-rate knock.
The finest aspect of this innings was how he effectively targeted one of the tournament’s top death bowlers, Matheesha Pathirana (4-0-48-0). His efforts were rewarded as RR won the match by a comfortable margin of 32 runs.
