Though he played much of his early cricket in the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, it was the unfashionable Railways team that gave Sanjay Bangar his ticket to ride. It took him eight years of dedicated toil in the second-class carriage that is domestic cricket before the national selectors decided that he deserved a chance in the plusher environs of the international game. One glance at Bangar tells you enough about the route that he's taken to the top. Hopefuls from the more glamourous domestic outfits sometimes come into the team with a bad attitude, an inbuilt arrogance that suggests they only have to walk onto the field to succeed. One big knock or a half-decent spell with the ball and they fancy themselves as the cat's whiskers. By contrast, the first thing you notice about Bangar is his sheer enthusiasm and eagerness to learn.

For him, making it to the national side from a cricketing backwater like Railways – and that's what they were till very recently – is an achievement in itself. You won't find too many newspapers or discussion forums that champion the cause of cricketers from Railways, Orissa, Rajasthan or Kerala. Why would they, when they can wax eloquent about Mumbai instead?

At Mohali on his Test debut, he batted impressively for 36 in the first innings before a hamstring injury ended his series. He'd done just about enough to ensure that he remained in the selection panel's thoughts. A gritty 212 in the recent Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Tamil Nadu swung the deal and pitchforked him back into the 14 for Nagpur. His additional ability to reverse swing the ball prodigiously at a fair pace made him the perfect choice to slot into the team as an allrounder, though to be honest he's more Ian Harvey than Ian Botham.

His batting today though had plenty of beef to it. Yesterday evening, he had been cautious in the extreme, battening the hatches in imitation of the master at the other end. This morning was a different cup of tea, or something more potent. Stuart Carlisle erred again with the timing of the new ball, and his team felt the repercussions. Bangar started the carnage, driving Ray Price on the up over mid-on and then lofting him inside out over cover. That was a stroke he played with great aplomb, getting inside the line to the left-arm spinner and thumping the ball over cover.

What he did show today was that there's far more to his batting than graft and nudge. As with most Indian batsmen, Bangar, too, favours the supple-wristed approach. Anything pitched on middle stump is likely to be worked away on the onside, though not quite with the flourish or elegance of an Azharuddin.

A century in only his second Test is a tremendous fillip for a man who has more than served his time at first class level. But let's not go overboard either with the Bangar the Banger headlines. A home Test match against modest opposition, and an even more modest bowling attack. Also, he walked to the crease with almost 400 on the board and no pressure on the team.

The litmus test will come in the West Indies or England, if the selectors pick him for those tours. If he can play a similar innings with India 60 for 4 – and that's more than likely given India's travel sickness – the Indian cricket fraternity can acknowledge that they're on to a good thing. Till then, let's just raise a glass to a man who's overcome huge odds to get where he is today and recognise that there's far more to Indian cricket than Mumbai, Karnataka and Delhi.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor, Wisden.com India

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