The 5 best moments of Wriddhiman Saha's Test career 

#4 As the wicket crumbles, Saha stands strong

Saha negotiated some potent bowling against the Proteas

As the pitch at Jamtha was crumbling in the infamous Test match in Nagpur against South Africa in 2015, the Proteas fast bowlers had found their own groove, reverse swinging and bouncing off canons towards the Indian batting attack with venom.

With India stuttering at 116/5, in walked Wriddhiman Saha at the venue of his Test debut, with a stern challenge awaiting him. He had showed his mettle in 2010. He would have to do it again. With Dhoni leaving the stage in the middle of India’s tour to Australia, Saha had insured his entry into the Test arena, courtesy him being the best wicket keeper in India. But question marks on his batting form still remained.

He had shone, but just briefly in encounters in Adelaide, Sydeny, Colombo and Galle, showing off his stamina and his mental strength as he carried on unabashedly while the team collapsed around him.

The day at Jamtha was no different. As Saha entered the world of Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada’s pace and bounce, he had to shut everything off and focused solely on manipulating the good length deliveries by defending, driving or cleverly playing across the ball’s line.

By the time his innings had ended 106 deliveries later, he had shown his more famed teammates the tenacity to hold on, even when the world around appeared menacing. His 106-ball stay fetched him 32 runs, which when put into perspective remains an credible task indeed.

Not only was Saha the second highest run-scorer for India in the first innings, he faced the maximum number of deliveries in the innings, with Virat Kohli coming a distant second, having faced 55 balls.

On a pitch that was later deemed unfit for Test cricket, Saha’s mature handling of not only accurate bowling but also the demons that the 22-yards threw up, firmly established himself as a crucial cog in the Indian batting order.