On a rather uneventful third day of the SSC Test, Prasidh Krishna crossed an important threshold he will hope he never crosses back. His bowling average is now under 30, which admittedly in this bowler-friendly era is not flash. In the nine Tests that Prasidh has played, the overall bowling average for fast bowlers has been 27.42. If an average of 29.32 now is not flash, it is not terrible either. Here, though, is a stat that excites India. Of all the fast bowlers that have taken 30 or more wickets for India, Prasidh's rate of taking a wicket every 41 balls is the best strike-rate.
Of course Prasidh has done it over just 31 wickets, but the selectors and the team management clearly believe he has the attributes they are looking for. It has taken time for him to find fuller lengths, but Prasidh has been much more consistent in this series than the previous ones.
"It [the improvement over time] just shows the character of Prasidh," India's bowling coach Morne Morkel said. "A guy who had the media on his back, who had the commentators on his back, to fight through that and bowl the way he's bowling at the moment for me is very impressive.
"As a team and as management, we always knew about the potential. I think for him it is about quieting those voices and just playing cricket. As soon as you get into this environment, you want to impress a billion cricket fans, you're under the microscope, every movement gets analysed, and sometimes you try and fight against those elements, but I think the process for me, the biggest change is just to let go of all those thoughts, all those comments, and he's just enjoying this loving bowling. The results are showing.
"He's an extremely hard-worker. He's a guy that does a lot of homework leading into games, doing a lot of research on the opposition. So for me he's a massive student of the game, and it is just great to see him grow and develop into a world-class bowler for India in all formats. He's got the potential and the talent to play for a very long time."
Two of India's best non-Jasprit Bumrah fast bowlers in recent times, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, strike once every 50 balls, but they have a better economy and average than Prasidh. Prasidh goes at more than four an over, but that is also a function of the enforcer role given to him when traditional lengths are not working for India.
Morkel, a tall bowler himself much like Prasidh, is happy that he is able to bowl the traditional lengths for long periods now. "A lot of the times it's the captain and the coaches, it's our decision, trying to create something if there's not much happening with the ball or not much happening in the surface. As a world-class bowler, it's very important to always try and create something. Plus he's got that extra pace, he's got that bounce for us, so we're going to use him in certain phases where it might be risky, but we might get the reward as well.
"It is tough on him. There was a lot of times, I think back in England where, you know, we had to put our hand up because we were asking a bowler to do a certain job, but, I think the most important thing is the respect back in the change room. Although the results sometimes might not go his way, the whole team at the end of the day is behind him and supporting him. That's all that matters is. How we get around him and we support him and pick him up.
"From there it's my job to, when we move away and we sit in the hotel, talk through those things and answer the questions that he might have and things that are on his mind and we give him clarity and confidence.
"It is sometimes a tough job, it's a donkey's job, but I think he's done that very very well for us in the last two or three years. With that, also his game has grown now to where he can hit that fuller length much much more consistently, which is great to see."
The challenge for taller bowlers struggling to hit fuller lengths is to do that without floating the ball up. To have that same intensity behind the fuller ball is something that took its time with Ishant Sharma as well. If this series is any evidence, Prasidh might be well on his way.