Time stands still when Deep Dasgupta bats - because he's so very boring. He has a few strokes, none of them attractive to watch. He shows the ball the full face of his bat, but mostly in resolute defence. Asked who he admires, he mentions Mike Atherton. Deep Dasgupta is not a pretty sight, but he embodies everything Indian cricket desperately needs. Maybe he takes inspiration from Justin Langer, another accidental opener who has achieved excellence through grit. But Langer was a middle-order bat who played enough at No. 3 to be familiar with the new ball; Dasgupta was just a sacrificial lamb.

When Dasgupta opened at Port Elizabeth, it was a makeshift arrangement which nobody thought could last. The management did not have enough confidence in the second opener given to them by the selectors, Connor Williams. They had tried Rahul Dravid in the first Test, but he was both reluctant and unsuccessful. Speculation raged as to who would open at Port Elizabeth. VVS Laxman was sounded out, and he declined. Then Sourav Ganguly, with great reluctance, said he would do the job.

The hour had come, and so did the man. Dasgupta stepped up and offered to do the job. He went on to show rare resolve and application, saving the match for India with fifty in the second innings. Strangely, Ganguly did not persist with him, and Williams opened at Centurion. Then came Mohali, and the plan was to open with yet another debutant, Sanjay Bangar, until he fell sick and Dasgupta got the call again.

No paeans will be sung, no poems written about the way he batted today. None of the bowlers - barring Flintoff, sporadically - was particularly menacing, but Dasgupta did not try to punish them, as Tendulkar, Laxman et al surely would have. Time was not of the essence: this was a Test match, and he played as if he wanted to bat forever.

The first two sessions were dreary, and welcome. Only 126 runs were added before tea, but only one wicket was lost, a refreshing statistic given the batting collapses India have engineered in recent times.

Dasgupta and nightwatchman Kumble were actually the ideal batsmen for India when play resumed. Both had put a price on their wicket in South Africa and for a team that badly needs to learn how to play out morning sessions without losing too many wickets, their stodginess was just the thing. They added 53 runs in 164 balls, and by the time Dravid strode out to bat, the advantage of the newish ball and the morning conditions had been completely nullified.

Dravid played a characteristic anchor role as he and Dasgupta added 136 invaluable runs in 279 balls. They sped up after tea, and Dasgupta completed a richly deserved century, his first in international cricket. Both men played some lovely strokes, as did Tendulkar when he came to the crease, but it was the resilience which was cause for celebration.

The dilemma India face with Dasgupta is that his primary task is to keep wicket well, and he was quite horrid behind the stumps here. Facing Harbhajan, he looked a baby juggling blocks of Lego. But he has shown a willingness to learn, and the character to persevere, and if given enough chances, will surely redeem himself in that area too. India need him to.

Amit Varma is assistant editor, Wisden.com India.

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