Dhruv Jurel credits Rishabh Pant after his glorious ton in Colombo

Dhruv Jurel's Instagram bio is simple yet catchy. It reads Mamba Mentality - a term coined by basketball legend Kobe Bryant to describe his efforts to become the best version of himself. Jurel's unbeaten 115 on the second day of the second Test against Sri Lanka here on Monday was a testimony of his devotion to that motto.

At one end, Rishabh Pant, with whom he built a 112-run stand, was playing in his archetypal way for 63, but Jurel concentrated on his strengths to accumulate runs. Jurel explained his batting methods while batting alongside a sparkling shot-maker like Pant.

"We all know Pant is such a terrific player and what he has done for India in Australia and England. So, whenever he is in, I only seek his advice, because he has so much experience. So, I always ask him for advice as, what I should do in a particular situation," Jurel said in the post-day press conference and dedicated his second Test hundred to his parents. But does he get tempted to copy the dominating ways of Pant? truewildgame.com

"As you can see, Test cricket has different ways of playing, and it makes the game beautiful. When you play with Pant, it's a very terrific experience. I can't play like him, the way he has been playing since childhood. "My game plan is to see which bowler should I take down, which spell should I play, and I always ask Pant because he is a wicketkeeper, I am a wicketkeeper, and we play in the middle order, so it's a very good experience.

The wicketkeeper batter also offered a fitness update on Pant, who did not do the stumper's duty towards the end of the day. "Right now, he got a hit on his right shoulder, and we are closely monitoring him. Today I did wicketkeeping, because his shoulder was a little bad. Hopefully, I think he will be fit tomorrow," he said.

After batting solidly for 99 runs, Jurel's 100th run was a scamper and dive for a single. The 25-year-old saw the lighter side of it. "So actually, till 99, I was getting runs, and on 99, he (Asitha Fernando) started bowling good lengths, and Sri Lanka started fielding well too.

"So when I played that shot (a straight punch off Fernando), it was going over the head of the bowler, and I thought, there is some gap from the fielder, but as I saw he (fielder) coming close I was like - Oh! What have I done," he smiled. After reaching the hundred, Jurel made a salute and displayed a tattoo - Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan - on his biceps.

"My grandfather was a farmer, and my father was a soldier. So, those are my roots, and I don't want to forget them. So, that salute should go to my father and grandfather," he said, and added that touring this country with India A helped his preparations.

But Jurel did not forget to thank Mohammad Siraj for blocking 29 balls, giving him a chance to complete his century. "Siraj, whenever I speak to him, I think he celebrates more. It's good thing about him was that his defending was solid. It was good," Jurel said. Perhaps, Mamba Mentality is infectious.

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Dhruv Jurel’s unbeaten century and a late double strike with the ball ensured India remained firmly in control at the end of Day 2 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

India declared after posting a massive first-innings total of 503/9 as Dhruv Jurel joined Devdutt Padikkal in the first-innings centurion list. Sri Lanka’s response got off to a bad start, reaching stumps at 8/2 while trailing by 495 runs with debutant Kamil Mishara unbeaten on 5.

India restarted the final session at 475/8, with Jurel sitting on 95 and Mohammed Siraj alongside him. Jurel safely navigated a tense period, enduring 13 straight dot balls while stranded on 99 before completing his second Test century off 171 deliveries. Once past three figures, the wicketkeeper-batter accelerated, hitting a pair of sixes over long-on.

Prabath Jayasuriya eventually dismissed Siraj for 3, but Prasidh Krishna helped push the visitors beyond 500. India declared at 503/9 in 138 overs, with Jurel standing firm on 115 not out alongside Prasidh (4*). Asitha was Sri Lanka's standout bowler with 4/106, while Jayasuriya and Keshara Nuwantha claimed two wickets each.

Sri Lanka stumble late after strong Indian batting performance

Sri Lanka’s opening innings began poorly as Lahiru Udana edged Prasidh Krishna to Yashasvi Jaiswal at third slip to fall for just 1. As light faded, Indian spinners stepped in, and Manav Suthar struck immediately by trapping nightwatchman Jayasuriya leg-before for 2, leaving the host side reeling at 8/2 at the close of day's play.

Earlier in the day, Rishabh Pant and Jurel added 112 runs for the seventh wicket to put India on top before lunch. Their effort marked only the second time India recorded a century stand for the seventh wicket or lower in a Test in Sri Lanka, matching a 104-run partnership by Cheteshwar Pujara and Amit Mishra in 2015.

During his knock, Pant broke MS Dhoni’s record for the most Test runs scored by an Indian wicketkeeper in away or neutral venues.

The middle-order heroics built on a solid opening day where Devdutt Padikkal scored 117, and captain Shubman Gill added a fifty to recover from 66/2 and set up India's dominant 503-run total.

Brief Scores: India 503/9 dec (Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115; Asitha Fernando 4/106) vs Sri Lanka 8/2 (Kamil Mishara 5; Prasidh Krishna 1/1).

There are sporting journeys that begin in academies, surrounded by professional coaches, sophisticated infrastructure and carefully constructed development programmes. And then there is the story of Treesa Jolly.

Her journey began in a small village in Kannur, Kerala, where badminton was barely known, there was no proper court, and international sporting success seemed a distant dream. Yet one man dared to imagine it her father, Jolly Mathew.

Watching Treesa’s latest medal-winning performance from their home in Kannur, her parents felt an overwhelming mixture of pride, happiness and satisfaction. For her father, though, it must also have been a journey back in time to when he first noticed something special in his five-year-old daughter.

By seven, Treesa was already competing in the state Under-11 category and winning medals against children considerably older than her. Jolly believes that early exposure was important. Playing older and stronger opponents forced her to improve faster and taught her very early that age need not define ambition.

A physical education teacher and former volleyball player, Jolly had himself been a long-distance and cross-country athlete before becoming a state referee and, eventually, moulding himself into a badminton coach for his daughters, Treesa and Marie. The problem was that there was nowhere to train. So he built a badminton court at home. After completing his duties as a teacher, he would train his daughters in the evenings. In those formative years, competitions often stretched late into the night and father and daughter would travel to tournaments on his bike. There were no sponsors then. The family came from modest means, and expenses were met through their own resources and the support of friends and well-wishers.

Jolly repeatedly emphasised something that became the family’s philosophy: think international. If an athlete wants to compete with the world’s best, the dream itself cannot be restricted by geography, circumstances or resources. A significant turning point came through Dr Anil Ramachandran of Kannur University, whom Jolly remembers with immense gratitude. Treesa moved away from home to train under his guidance and continued collecting medals at state and national level. By Class 10, she was representing India and won a medal at the German Open.

Later came the Gopichand Academy, the “factory”, as Jolly affectionately describes it, that helped mould Treesa into an international champion. Equally important was her transition from singles to doubles. It proved transformational, allowing her abilities to find their most effective expression on the international stage. Her father’s philosophy towards setbacks is equally revealing. Failure, he says, must first be accepted. Only then can an athlete objectively analyse what went wrong, understand the opponent and return to training to correct those weaknesses.

That is why he considers Treesa’s latest performance perhaps her finest. She had endured three months of bed rest following injury and had barely a month of proper training before returning to competition. To come back and perform at this level required not merely physical recovery but enormous mental strength.

Jolly also has a message for parents of aspiring athletes. Group coaching can teach a child the sport, but reaching international standards requires individual attention, specialised training and exposure. Parents, he believes, have an important role in ensuring that their children receive those opportunities.

Amid all the medals and international travel, Treesa at home remains remarkably ordinary. She laughs and jokes with everyone, enjoys watching films and maintains close relationships with the families of fellow players. The discipline of elite sport means watching her diet and adhering to demanding training routines, but home remains the place where she can simply be Treesa.

Today, as Treesa Jolly takes on the world’s best, Jolly Mathew asks for just one thing from everyone watching her journey – their good wishes and blessings. The medals belong to Treesa. But behind them lies a homemade court in Kannur, a father’s stubborn belief, and a dream that was always much bigger than their circumstances.

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Sanjay Manjrekar expressed disappointment with Sri Lanka's conduct as the match neared its climax, deeming their reaction to the fading light as somewhat unprofessional and distracting. While India declared their first innings, Sri Lanka stumbled to 8/2. In contrast, Manjrekar commended India's determination to continue playing despite the rain, highlighting their dominant position going into the next phase of the game.