From the slips, Joe Root rushed to embrace him; from mid-on, Ben Stokes strolled to commiserate him. Even the fiery Ollie Robinson tapped his shoulder.
The Ranchi crowd, 10,000-odd, stood up and applauded him. Dhruv Jurel, falling for a priceless 90, walked back gently, soaking in the applause, waving his bat to all corners of the ground, discontent that he missed his hundred but content that he had pulled his team out of trouble.
A new hero has risen, in the land of one of its greatest heroes. Son of a Kargil war veteran, with a heart for battle himself.
Some fans waved the MS Dhoni-7 jersey at him. Some kept chanting the former captain and the homeboy’s name. Jurel needn’t be reminded that this was Dhoni’s hometown. He could not have but noticed the towering stands named after his idol; he couldn’t have but noticed the ubiquitous No. 7 jerseys in white, blue and yellow hues that have splashed the stands and that would have stared at him from the makeshift stalls on the sidewalks of the highway that leads to the stadium.