A lull followed a bang. After back-to-back sparkling half-centuries on international debut in Rajkot last month, Sarfaraz Khan went through a period of struggle in the following Test in Ranchi, aggregating only 14 runs.

On a challenging wicket, the 26-year-old didn't look too comfortable against England's tweakers - left-armer Tom Hartley and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir - who both accounted for him in that fourth Test, which India won to seal the five-match series.

But for Sarfaraz, the time out in the middle wasn't satisfactory. After edging a turning-away delivery from Hartley to slip in the first innings, he suffered a first-ball dismissal in the second off the bowling of Bashir. Sarfaraz tried to defend but wasn't close to where the ball had pitched. The ball took a thin edge off his bat, hit his knee-roll and popped up to the fielder at short leg.

These two dismissals might as well prompt critics to point out his concerns on surfaces that aren't ideal for batting or on wearing tracks. But wouldn't it be too early to jump to conclusions on the basis of just one poor game?

The ones who have watched Sarfaraz from close and know a thing or two about him don't seem