Wriddhiman Saha`s biggest capital in his 11-year international career has been his immaculate glove-work which is still sharp but Srikar Bharat`s neat work behind the stumps as a substitute keeper seems enough to give the 37-year-old Bengal stumper sleepless nights. Worse, Saha`s uncanny knack of picking up niggles and injuries at wrong time isn`t also helping his cause along with his batting abilities which has deteriorated remarkably since the emergence of Rishabh Pant in the Indian Test horizon.

On Saturday, Saha complained of stiff neck, minutes before the third day`s play was to start and Bharat, the second keeper doing his own routine, was told do the job in the middle. The pitch, one that had variable bounce with odd ball keeping really low and one or two climbing up from the spot, Bharat put his best foot forward during the 85.3 overs he was behind the stumps, taking two very different catches and a smart reflex stumping which could have gone wrong because of the uneven bounce. It was baptism by fire for the 28-year-old seasoned first-class cricketer, who has been an India A regular for past three years. "It`s not easy if you are not in 11 and then suddenly you have to come in," day`s hero Axar Patel said when PTI asked him about Bharat`s performance.