Ravichandran Ashwin tore through Australia to set up India's comprehensive victory by an innings and 132 runs inside three days of the spin-dominated opening Test on Saturday.
India skipper Rohit Sharma said he had picked up a few cues about how to work with spinners from his predecessor Virat Kohli's time as a skipper.
"When Virat was captaining, I noticed one thing, no matter if we got a wicket or not, the pressure had to be there so that the opposition made a mistake.
"That's what I learnt when Virat was captaining and these guys were bowling. That's what I try to do now. Apply pressure and don't expect wickets every ball; its not going to happen like that but if it happens, nothing like it. We've got to be at it, and keep putting the ball in right areas and let the pitch help you."
Rating the knock
Rohit might have scored one of his best Test hundreds but the captain said he will not compare his 120 at Nagpur with the 161 he scored at Chepauk against England in 2021.
"I keep it where it is," he curtly replied, when asked where he would rank the knock among his nine Test hundreds.
"Honestly, I am not too much into rating one knock above the other. Every time you play a knock like that it is important, so it is unfair to put one knock above the other. Both have come under different circumstances.
"In Chennai, we were one Test match down, we had to win. And, especially in home conditions when you are one-down, you are under pressure to do things right."
"Both (centuries) had their own challenges and I am very happy with the two knocks. When you come up with performances like these, you really feel good about it; it gives you lot of confidence also," he concluded.
What did Ashwin do that the Aussies didn't
Ashwin had enviable match figures of 8/79 from 27.5 overs sent down in two innings. When compared with the Australian off-spin duo of Nathan Lyon (1 wicket) and Todd Murphy (7 wickets), who together sent down 96 overs, one need not scratch his head to know who is the better bowler in Indian conditions.
"Ashwin has played so much cricket in India and is closing in on playing 100 Tests (89). I am pretty sure he has played most of those Tests in India and not to forget the first-class games as well before he made his debut," Rohit explained.
"A lot of cricket and overs have gone into skills and being able to do what he is doing now; to be able to extract something out of pitch, it is not easy."
"He can bowl that carrom ball and top spin and slider. The guy has got everything. The reason he is able to extract (so much) from the pitches is because of (the) skill-sets that he has. He is a very studious guy and likes to understand his game and take it to the next level."
