On a day when he reacted with an equal mix of ecstasy and relief after converting his first Test century into a double ton, many will tell you that Mayank Agarwal’s march to the Indian team began when he scored 1003 runs in 27 days during the 2017-’18 Ranji season.

But they’d only be half-right.

For, while that amazing run played a huge role in him forcing his way into the national consciousness, it was his performance in the match before that run began that was the real trigger.

The match was against Hyderabad at Shimoga. In the first innings, Agarwal batting at No 3, lasted just two balls. In the second innings, he tried a different approach and lasted 22 balls before walking back to join his team-mates in the pavilion.

Two ducks in two innings. That never feels good.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sad after the pair because all my team-mates supported me,” Agarwal had told Wisden India in 2017. “If anything, I was happy with how much they backed me. Everyone ensured that the vibe around me was positive, and that reflected in how I batted thereafter.

“Actually, I could not have had a better thing happen to me in my life. I was working on letting go for some time and this was the perfect opportunity for me to truly experience it. I just let go and focussed on facing the next ball, and that’s how the triple happened.”

The next sequence of scores was: 304*, 176, 23, 90, 133*, 173 and 104*.

Also read: Twitter salutes Mayank Agarwal for his fine double ton vs South Africa

But after getting himself into the national reckoning he still had to wait “in the queue” for a while before he finally got the call-up. It was a period that was perhaps as difficult to deal with as his first two years in domestic cricket when he didn’t score a ton despite being a top-order batsman.

He needed to be strong and keep his focus — regardless of the opposition or the stage. He needed to just go out there and keep scoring runs. The Ranji Trophy isn’t the most highly regarded tournament among the top Indian cricketers at the moment — many international stars have played very few Ranji matches in recent history while others choose to rest rather than play — but there is a certain value that can be attached to the grind of playing season after season.

It gives you a kind of quiet confidence that cannot be matched by an innings or two with India ‘A’ or even by sitting in the dressing room of the Indian team. Your body also gets attuned to the rhythms of a longer format and so much of Test cricket is about being in the right mental space.

And Agarwal’s 215 against South Africa in Vishakapatnam on Thurday was a showcase: he was putting on an exhibition of everything he had learned from the hard grind of domestic cricket.

Calm, unhurried

As is his usual pattern, he played the drive a lot, used his feet to the spinners and on day two, started playing the reverse sweep and the conventional sweep too. But through it all, he remained in complete control.

At the other end, Rohit Sharma was dominating the South African attack as only he can but Agarwal resisted the temptation to match him shot for shot. But he still ended up scoring at a pretty healthy clip — 57.95 compared to Sharma’s 72.13.

Together, the two openers put on 317 runs; runs that seem to have pummelled the South Africans into submission even before they came out to bat in their first innings.

Even after Sharma was dismissed, Agarwal continued to in an unhurried, calm manner to become the first India batsman to score a double century as an opener in Test cricket since December 2009, when Sehwag scored 293 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai.

Since Agarwal made his Test debut, no Indian batsman has scored more runs than his 490 in 8 innings. These numbers reflect not just on his quality but also provide hope to all those slogging it out in Ranji cricket.

It may seem unglamorous as compared to the IPL and you may end up playing a lot of matches in empty stadiums but if done right, it can set you up for a long Test career. It teaches you that cricket isn’t just about the fours and sixes, the glitz and glamour, the constant attention at the international level. There is so much more than goes into becoming a proper cricketer. For all those toiling hard in the tunnel that could be domestic cricket at times: Agarwal held out a shining light that triumph will follow if you keep at it long enough.

And, moreover, it also provided a template to his good friend KL Rahul (and anyone else who finds themselves out of form or favour). Go back to first-class cricket, go back to the basics, go back and score runs or take wickets because winning matches, scoring runs, taking wickets are habits that can only be formed on the cricket field.

It is the school of hard knocks in every sense and with his first Test century, Agarwal has finally earned the right to call himself a graduate.