This may be harsh but Mitchell Santner's Test career peaked after his first experience of the longest format. Making his debut in the pink ball game against Australia in 2015, the visitors were below par at 5/98 when the then 23-year-old walked out well before lights had taken effect. Australia sensed blood.
Santner wasn't going to lie down and be tickled. He stepped out and square drove Peter Siddle for four. Hello, Test cricket, meet Mr Santner. It was quite the introduction.
When he was going through his paces at the nets before the second Test in Pune, almost nine years removed from the opening encounter, the 28-Test man was still searching for something to eclipse that moment Adelaide moment.
It came on Day Two at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune when he ran through the spine of the hosts' batting line-up to set up New Zealand's first-ever Test series win on Indian soil. Twenty-four hours later, he repeated the trick by helping the Kiwis seal the deal, an unthinkable achievement less than a month ago when he picked up one wicket across three innings in Galle. In that away Test series loss over Sri Lanka, the left-arm fingerspinner had combined returns of 1/197 in 66.2 overs.
On Friday and Saturday, the 32-year-old toppled his own recent history to bowl the Indians out on a tricky black-soil surface at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium at Pune. By the time the still boy-faced man had finished his masterpiece, he had become the owner of a record more appropriate for the likes of Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralidaran, Nathan Lyon or Saqlain Mushtaq -- one of the best match figures (13/157) by a visiting spinner on these shores in post-war history.
How did he do it? Some cricketing smarts as well as watching Washington Sundar when the Indian offie was bowling. "I tend to do that a lot in white-ball cricket - change the pace," Santner told the media on Friday after his career-best figures of 7/53 (he had never before had a four-wicket haul in Tests). "I think today we kind of spoke about that kind of just under 90 kph. (It) looked like it was spinning and then for a period there when you went over the top, it was actually bouncing a lot so we spoke about maybe going a little bit slower. But I just think at the start it was (about) kind of (bowling) fast into it and then it kind of changed as the day went on with the pitch and I think Washi (Washington Sundar) did that as well."
Varying pace comes naturally for Santner because of the primacy of his white-ball skills. When queried whether he had used that transferability of skills from the shorter formats to the longest format, he replied in the affirmative.
"Yeah, through the second half of my spell where we found out that change of pace was working," he said. "Some would spin, some would skid, some would stay down, trying to play with the angles of the crease as well and land it in a similar spot. Have watched Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) and (R) Ashwin do that here over the years. That's what we tried to do."
If Friday's lunch was Santner's opening act in his own play, Saturday's lunch was piece de resistance. The hosts were going along swimmingly well when the Wellington-born spinner put the brakes. Pressed into service in the fourth over after a rapid start, he first induced Rohit Sharma's inside edge for a simple catch at forward short-leg.
Even though Yahasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were going at well over six per over, it felt like a ball would arrive with both their names on it from Santner. He first nipped out the right-hander, this time the outside edge going to first slip. He had once again varied his pace, this time a lot faster and not much flight.
Jaiswal, who was taking the attack, wasn't playing the forward defence; on this pitch, it was loaded with risk. But the spinners weren't bringing him forward all that much. However, Santner did the needful for just enough deliveries and the 22-year-old had to come forward. There was no turn -- the previous had spun sharply -- and the outside edge was pouched sharply. A quickfire 77 off 65 had got the fans believing but this was the beginning of the end, an abrupt closing to the hosts' 12-year unbeaten series record at home.
Next over, Rishabh Pant called Kohli for a quick single but the former was short by a couple of inches. Santner, bowling unchanged from the more productive media box end since the third over, had hit his spot by now. And he had his eyes on the target -- Kohli -- for a second innings running.
To be fair to India's No. 4, he was largely flawless and was playing an innings filled with control. But on a strip like this where there's lots of natural variation, consistent turn and kick, every ball had the potential to be his final one. Santner went wide of the crease and hit a good length. This one went in with the angle and Kohli was caught in no man's land. Trapped in front.
As he departed, the fans took that as cue to make for the exit gates to try and salvage their Saturday. For the hosts, there would be lots of uncomfortable questions between now and the time they depart for Australia in a little over two weeks. A proud 12-year home record had crumbled in front of their eyes.
Santner, though, has lived his Test dream twice in two days after being an afterthought for close to nine years.