Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Dhruv Jurel celebrated his maiden IPL fifty with his family after the team's seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants at The Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday, April 27.
Jurel was one of the architects in Rajasthan Royals' win over Lucknow Super Giants as he played an unbeaten match-winning knock of 52 off 34 balls, including three fours and two sixes, at a strike rate of 152.94. After reaching his maiden fifty of the tournament, the 23-year-old did a 'salute celebrate' as respect to his father who served in the Indian army.
Along with match-winning knock, Dhruv Jurel formed a crucial unbeaten121-run partnership with skipper Sanju Samson (71* off 33 balls) to help RR pull off the chase 197-run chase with an over to spare.
In a video shared by Indian Premier League (IPL) on its X handle (formerly Twitter), Dhruv Jurel had a wholesome moment with his family members who came to watch the match and clicked pictures with them.
Before his maiden fifty against Lucknow Super Giants, Dhruv Jurel had a torrid run in the ongoing IPL season as he scored just 50 runs at an average of below 10 in eight matches. His form was a cause of concern until he put to rest when he stepped up for the team alongside Sanju Samson with a half-century.
'The idea was to finish the game': Dhruv Jurel
Reflecting on his match-winning knock against Lucknow Super Giants, Dhruv Jurel said that he wanted to finish the game for the team whenever he got an opportunity. He also spoke about Sanju Samson's message at the crease while chasing the target.
"I just wanted to finish the match whenever I got a chance (during batting). It's always a blessing / curse (playing in the middle-order), I just wanted to stay until the end and finish the game for my team." Jurel added.
"Sanju told me to calm down, don't go too hard, take my time and then I got 20 runs in an over and that got me going." he added.
In IPL 2024, Dhruv Jurel has scored 102 runs, including a fifty, at an average 25.50 and a strike rate of 134.31.
