Dhruv Jurel created history after scoring the second Test century of his career for India against Sri Lanka on the 2nd day of play in the second Test match of a two-match series at the iconic Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo to help India set an incredible platform to win the match and seal a 2-0 whitewash against the home team.
Jurel scored an unbeaten knock of 115 runs in 117 balls before the Shubman Gill-led side declared the innings with 503 (for 9) on the board. Earlier, Devdutt Padikkal had scored a century for the Asian giants after they won the toss and chose to bat on the first day.
Dhruv Jurel Creates History
Jurel, who walked out to bat at number seven, is only the second Indian after Hardik Pandya to score a century from number seven or below for the national team in a Test match in Sri Lanka. The only other player to achieve the feat was Hardik Pandya, who scored his maiden (and to date only international) tonne at Pallekele during the team’s tour of the country in 2017. In fact, Jurel also went past Hardik and now has the most individual runs by an Indian batter in a Test match in the island nations.
Interestingly, Hardik’s century had come while batting at number eight, which makes Jurel the first Indian to score a century from number seven in Test cricket on Sri Lankan soil.
Most runs by an Indian Batter From Number 7 Or Below In A Test Match In Sri Lanka
| Player | Runs | Ground | Year |
| Dhruv Jurel | 115 | Colombo (SSC) | 2026 |
| Hardik Pandya | 108 | Pallekele | 2017 |
| Kapil Dev | 78 | Colombo (PSS) | 1985 |
| MS Dhoni | 76 | Colombo (SSC) | 2010 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 70 | Colombo (SSC) | 2017 |
Meanwhile, if home Test matches are considered, Jurel is the fifth Indian batter to score a century against Sri Lanka from number 7 or below alongside Hardik, MS Dhoni (twice), and Kapil Dev. Only Jadeja (175 in Mohali in 2022) and Kapil (163 in Kanpur in 1986) have scored more runs in an innings than the 25-year-old.
Dhruv Jurel Joins Rare Four-Man List
Jurel is the fourth visiting batter to score a century from number seven in the storied history of the Ground. He is the first Indian cricketer to achieve the feat while being the third Asian player to be part of the elite list of cricketers.
Visiting Batters To Score Century From Number 7 Or Below At SSC Ground In Colombo
| Player | Runs | Team | Year |
| Daniel Vettori | 140 | New Zealand | 2009 |
| Salman Agha | 132* | Pakistan | 2023 |
| Dhruv Jurel | 115* | India | 2026 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | 103 | Pakistan | 2014 |
Overall, Jurel is the 12th player from a visiting team to score a Test century in Sri Lanka while batting at number seven or below. He joins Inzamam-ul-Haq (Kandy, 1994), Wasim Akram (Galle, 2000), Daniel Vettori (Colombo (SSC), 2009), Nasir Hossain (Galle, 2013), Jean-Paul Duminy (Galle, 2014), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Colombo (SSC), 2014), Hardik Pandya (Pallekele, 2017), Ben Foakes (Galle, 2018), Salman Ali Agha (Colombo (SSC), 2023), Curtis Campher (Galle, 2023), Dhruv Jurel (Colombo (SSC), 2026), Sir Richard Hadlee (Colombo (CCC), 1987) in the elite list.