Dhruv Jurel scores highest List A score of career in Vijay Hazare Trophy clash

India’s rising wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel produced a breathtaking display of powerful strikes in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26smashing an unbeaten 160 off 101 balls to propel Uttar Pradesh to an impressive total against Baroda at the Sanosara Cricket Ground ‘A’.

The knock marked Jurel’s first List A century and career-high score, instantly entering Uttar Pradesh folklore with several records collapsing in a single innings.

Dhruv Jurel saves Uttar Pradesh after early wickets

Put into bat, Uttar Pradesh were teetering at 92/3 when Jurel came in at No. 3. Openers Abhishek Goswami (51) and Aryan Juyal (26) had provided a steady platform of 77 runs, but quick wickets threatened to derail the innings.

Jurel initially stabilized proceedings alongside captain Rinku Singh, who chipped in with 63 off 67 balls. Once settled, Jurel flipped the switch, turning consolidation into outright domination.

The most astonishing phase of Jurel’s innings came after he reached triple figures. He went from 100 to 150 in just 19 balls, shattering Uttar Pradesh’s all-time record for the fastest List A fifty by a team batter.

His final total included 15 fours and 8 sixes, scored at a blistering strike rate of 158.42, as UP surged to 369/7 – their third highest List A total.

The Baroda bowlers had no answers once Jurel found his stand. Fast bowler Rasikh Salam had a torrid outing, conceding 55 runs off just 14 balls to Jurel – the most runs ever conceded by a Baroda bowler in a List A innings.

The assault symbolized the mismatch between batter and bowler during Jurel’s heyday, when boundaries stretched across all parts of the field.

Best Individual List A Score for UP

Jurel’s unbeaten 160 eclipsed long-standing records to become Uttar Pradesh’s highest List A individual score. He walked past:

• Aryan Juyal’s 159 vs Maharashtra (2022)
• Madhav Kaushik’s 158 not out against Mumbai (2021)

The innings also surpassed Jurel’s recent highs – 80 off 61 balls against Hyderabad five days earlier and 67 off 57 against Chandigarh – underlining his rapid upward curve.

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Wicket-keeping debate intensifies ahead of New Zealand ODIs

At just 24 years old, Jurel’s knock boosts his credentials amid the ongoing discussion over India’s backup wicketkeeper options, especially with the Rishabh Pant-Ishan Kishan debate dominating selection discussions ahead of New Zealand’s ODI series.

This was Jurel’s third consecutive score of over fifty points in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, taking his tally to 307 points in the competition. His recent twin centuries for India against South Africa further strengthen his white-ball record.

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