Dhruv Jurel gave a scintillating demonstration of his technical nous with a fighting hundred, carrying India A to a respectable 255 all out after a top-order malfunction against South Africa A on the first day of the four-day match here on Thursday.

Asked to bat first, India A were in serious trouble, some of their own making, at 126 for seven, but Jurel (132 not out, 175b, 12x4, 4x6) and Kuldeep Yadav (20, 87b) milked 79 runs for a doughty eighth-wicket stand to bail them out.

Jurel’s innings stood out for its marvellous adherence to batting technique, helping him survive the vagaries of conditions, pitch and relentlessness of Protean bowlers under largely overcast skies.

His batting neither touches the vast expanses nor does it have an element of derring-do, but it's based on stunning

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