Galle: Dhruv Jurel ended a run of seven innings without a fifty on Sunday, making 51 off 68 balls to carry India to 460 for 9 on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka. Rain and a wet outfield cost two sessions and only 43 overs were bowled.

Jurel came in at No. 6 with the Sri Lankan spinners getting plenty out of the surface. His 55-run stand with Manav Suthar for the seventh wicket was the difference between a decent total and an awkward one. He was dropped on 29 by Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva at slip.

Gambhir and Gill kept him settled

The lean run had not weighed on him, the wicketkeeper-batter said afterwards, and he credited head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill for that.

“There was, honestly, no pressure. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to represent India. That’s the only privilege that I play for,” he said at the post-day press conference.

“So whenever I speak to the captain or head coach, they always tell me what to do, what the situation is. So, tell me to play accordingly. There is no personal milestone that I look for before batting. I just go there and do what the team needs.”

India A trip pays off

The 25-year-old from Uttar Pradesh had been at the same ground weeks earlier with India A, and said the batting time he put in there helped on Sunday.

“We came here 10 days before. We practised in Colombo and before that played for India A, and we had 4-5 sessions. It’s all about batting on these kinds of surfaces as much as I can,” he said. “It improves my batting, knows the environment, and knows the situation. So it’s really helpful.”

With two sessions gone to the weather, India wanted runs quickly, but not at any cost.

“You can say that the plan was that we can make as many runs as possible. The plan was not that from the ball once, we are going bonkers,” Jurel said. “The plan was that we can make as many runs as possible by playing sensible cricket and make some good partnerships at the lower order.”

‘We need to take those 20 wickets’

Jurel reckons the pitch is still good for batting and that the Indian bowlers face a long third day. He expects the surface to keep changing with the weather.

“I think we’ll have to bowl long spells like their bowlers,” he said, referring to Prabath Jayasuriya and debutant spinner Keshara Nuwantha. “We’ll have to be consistent. There’s no rocket science. We need to put balls in great areas. That’s all. We have to keep it simple and play with determination. If we want to win the match, we need to take those 20 wickets.”