Debutant Jurel at the crease as India reach 388/7 at lunch on day two of third Test

RAJKOT: Ravichandran Ashwin and debutant Dhruv Jurel led a resolute response after early blows in an attritional morning session to take India to 388/7 at lunch on the second day of the third Test against England here on Friday.

On a docile pitch which has not favoured any style of bowling yet, India’s approach remained largely conservative which was also influenced to some extent by twin blows shortly after the play began.

Resuming at 326/5, India took their time in adding another 62 runs with Ashwin (25 batting) and Jurel (31 batting) putting on a vital 57-run stand for the eighth wicket.

Overnight centurion Ravindra Jadeja (112 from 225 balls, 9 fours, 2 sixes) could not add much to his kitty and walked back after playing one shot back to England part-timer Joe Root for a simple return catch.

The face of Jadeja’s bat turned inwards towards his pads as he looked to play the ball on the on-side, resulting in Root grabbing a sharp catch over his shoulders.