Colombo: An unflappable Dhruv Jurel allayed concerns surrounding his form with a remarkably composed unbeaten 115 before bowlers struck early blows to give India command of the second Test against Sri Lanka on a rain-hit second day here on Monday.
Jurel's second Test hundred powered India to a hefty 503 for nine declared in their first innings, and Sri Lanka were reduced to 8 for two at close after pacer Prasidh Krishna and Manav Suthar gave marching orders to Lahiru Udara and Prabath Jayasuriya respectively.
Kamil Mishara was batting on five when the stumps were drawn at 5.51 pm of an extended session. The hosts are trailing by 495 runs.
But the main storyline of the day was given by Jurel, fresh from his 51 in the first innings of the opening Test last week.
If the fifty at Galle broke a barren run of eight innings, Jurel underscored his growing confidence and touch with a near flawless knock at the SSC ground.
India gained immensely from his innings, and the right-hander was also involved in two vital stands - a 112 for the seventh wicket with Rishabh Pant that lifted India from 307 for six to 419.
For the subsequent wicket, Jurel and Manav Suthar added 39 runs that helped the tourists to further break away from their opponents and close in on the 500-run mark.
However, Jurel's consistency was the key ingredient in both those partnerships. The 25-year-old's 177-ball innings was a prime example of risk-free runs accumulation and situational awareness.
At the beginning of the day, Jurel gave full support to Pant, who came out to bat after the early dismissal of debutant Saransh Jain.
At that time, the focus was on Pant because he had to retire on 3 after copping a blow on his forearm by Lahiru Kumara on Sunday. Jurel understood the circumstances, and gave more strike to Pant, who played a typical innings of 63, full of chutzpah.
Pant fought gallantly against Lankan pacers during his near two-hour stay at the crease, batting with confidence and little discomfort.
The eventual runs against his name might have looked good, but Pant had to dig deep to reach that mark. Pacers Fernando and Kumara targeted his body with a bouncer barrage, and the former even managed to ping on his shoulder once.
However, Pant was equal to the task, either moving away from the line or nudging the ball around.
There was an explosive moment too, when the left-hander got inside the line to hook Kumara over fine leg for a six. Pant, who made a 66 in the second innings at Galle, reached his fifty in 81 balls with a pulled four off off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha.