For you papa: Dhruv Jurel brings up his salute celebration after match-winning fifty

Dhruv Jurel dedicated his maiden IPL fifty to his father, by bringing up his iconic salute celebration.

Jurel played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 52 runs to help RR win the match against LSG by 7 wickets at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow on April 27, Saturday. RR continue to strengthen their position in the points table with 8 wins in 9 matches as they cruise towards the playoffs.

Jurel took to Instagram to share snippets from the match, where he put up a picture of his celebration after completing fifty runs. He captioned the post, “For you papa.” In the post-match presentation, when Jurel was enquired about his trade-mark salute celebration, he reckoned that he always dedicated his knocks to his father, who is in the army.

“I always play for my papa, I did so during the Test match as well (against England). He was then in the army, he was there today and that was for him,” Jurel said.

HOW JUREL’S SALUTE BECAME POPULAR?

Jurel’s salute gesture gained popularity during the 5-match Test series between India and England when Jurel scored his maiden Test fifty in the 4th Test match in Ranchi and paid tribute to his father.

The official social media handle of IPL shared a special video featuring Jurel and his family, who had come to support him. Jurel met his family at the ground after the match as they looked all smiles and with eyes full of pride at their son’s magnificent innings.

Jurel was promoted up the order as Rajasthan was chasing 197 runs. With the early dismissals of RR’s top order, Jurel joined skipper Sanju Samson in the 9th over itself. As Samson had taken the aggressive route in the chase, Jurel played a mature knock and took on the LSG bowlers from time to time. After being dropped at the start of the innings, Jurel made the most of the opportunity by bringing up his first-ever IPL fifty in 31 balls. The duo shared a 121-run stand for the 4th wicket to power RR to a comfortable win.