India have got a couple of players on debut they should be really proud of: Nick Knight

In the absence of KL Rahul from the third Test against England, Sarfaraz Khan was handed the opportunity to make his debut in Rajkot. On the other hand, youngster Dhruv Jurel replaced KS Bharat, who has been pretty ordinary with the bat for the national team. When it came to their performance, India’s debutants made the most of the opportunity and contributed significantly with the bat in the first innings.

Coming out to bat at number six, Sarfaraz played an aggressive brand of cricket as he made 62 runs off 64 deliveries. He got out following a miscommunication with Ravindra Jadeja, as Mark Wood’s direct hit found Sarfaraz short of his crease. He was dejected by the way he got out but his debut was lauded by former England cricketer Nick Knight. He also spoke well of Jurel, who looked sharp with the bat on the morning session of Day 2.

“India have got a couple of players on debut they should be really proud of. Sarfaraz yesterday and Jurel now. The way he’s played through that session has been absolutely terrific,” Knight said while talking to JioCinema.

Jurel played the situation brilliantly: Knight

Both Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja got out pretty early on Day 2 after which, Dhruv Jurel and Ravichandran Ashwin took charge of the proceedings. The duo stitched a crucial partnership of 77 runs and that helped India cross the 400-run mark. Speaking about Jurel’s 46 runs on debut, Knight mentioned that the youngster played the situation brilliantly and lauded him for his temperament.

“He’s played the situation brilliantly. India were in real trouble when he came in, both players were on zero. He had to knuckle down and find a way of getting through. He’s a guy who is making his Test debut and he’s found a way to find strength for his partner Ashwin and found a way of getting through. I think he got off the mark after 11 balls but looking at him I thought this boy can play,” Knight added.