IPL 2026 – RR vs RCB – Ambati Rayudu and Aaron Finch praise Dhruv Jurel for his complete game

“He showed a lot of class in terms of skill as well as his temperament. He really stood out,” Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut programme. “He looks like a very, very mature batsman now. It’s time he steps up in terms of all formats of the game, hopefully for India.

“I think the world needs to talk about him a bit more than they generally do. He’s flying under the radar at the moment. In Indian cricket, I don’t see many people more talented than him in terms of a complete batsman. So he’s a great talent and I don’t think he should be (overlooked). He should be given his due.”

Finch agreed.

“His technique, his temperament, his ability to sum up the situation, pace and spin. He has the complete game,” Finch said of Jurel. “How easy he made the bat look when he first walked to the crease was something else. And it’s easy to just fall into the trap of saying, you know what, ‘kid, just keep going, I’ll get one (and give you the strike).’ “press the button.”

“When I bat at No. 3, he makes my batting look easy. When you go in and Vaibhav is smashing every ball, you tend to think nothing is happening on the wicket. And inside, like, cricket is not easy (as Sooryavanshi makes it look),” Jurel said at the post-match press conference. “And (after) five overs we were like 65-70 (73) runs. And that sixth over, Abhinandan (Singh) bowled to me, and I just said to myself, ‘I’ve got to cash, I’ve got to cash in, I’ve got to cash.

Cash in Jurel did it, with 4, 6, 4, 0, 6 and 4 to make it a 24-run over and end the encounter with RR on 97 for 1.

“When you go in, it is said that he hits the ball so well. And then there is also pressure. That he plays so well, I also have to do something. Again, it is also easy, because you feel that if he plays so well, I can too,” Jurel. “It’s a bit of both. All you need is the first boundary. To feel the ball in the middle of the bat. And then it flows.”

The new position seems to suit horse mackerel. After the high voltage Sooryavanshi-Yashasvi Jaiswal pairing and in front of Shimron Hetmyer and captain Riyan Parag.

“At the end of the day, you just have to win the game. Regardless of what number you bat at,” Jurel said. “Last year I batted at six, five. This year I am batting at No. 3. The management has shown some faith in me. So for me, batting number is just a number. My character is such that even if you ask me to bat at eight or nine, I will take it with joy. I know that I have to hit the six or four to win. I have always been like that.

“That was my highest score (in T20s). When Vaibhav got out… he made the game very easy. Six-and-a-half or seven (6.34) runs were required (per over) when he got out. So my job was to just get it done. I spoke to Riyan and (Ravindra) Jadeja who ran hard, just two, three, and we’ll get a good ball, and we’ll get a good ball. Just try to complete it in 18-19 overs, and that’s exactly what we did.”

And that made it four out of four for RR, who will now be on the road for their next three matches after a happy spell in their second home, Guwahati, before heading to Jaipur, their real home ground. And with Sooryavanshi, Jaiswal and Jurel doing what they do, they will be hoping for a lot of success along the way.