India, Nov. 24 -- Sai Sudharsan walked back again in Guwahati, undone by Simon Harmer. For a batter fast-tracked into India's most sacred Test position, the early numbers now make for uncomfortable reading.

Because after 10 innings at number three, Sudharsan is no longer just settling in. He has a full block of data that can be stacked alongside the names he is supposed to succeed, Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara, and the contrast is stark.

Dravid and Pujara both started at a level that was either elite or downright freakish. In their first 10 knocks at number three, they produced 5 and 4 fifty-plus scores respectively. Sai Sudharsan has just two. Where Dravid and Pujara used their first stretch to announce, "this spot is safe with u...