Kiwi sweep was more than just a Ravi show

THE series whitewash may have been masterminded by Ravichandran Ashwin’s spin, but India captain Virat Kohli insists the 3-0 demolition of New Zealand was a collective effort.

Ashwin continued his subcontinent trickery with 27 wickets at 17.77 in the series, enough for him to earn a fourth successive Man-of-the-Series award as India moved to the top of the Test rankings.

But despite three five-fors and two ten-wicket match hauls, Kohli chose not to focus on Ashwin and instead pick out the lesser lights.

“Those who write – praise or criticise – performances stand out only for them,” said the 27-year-old.

“For me the most important points in this series were Ravindra Jadeja’s batting in the first Test, Saha’s batting in the second Test, and Mohammed Shami’s spell too. They matter a lot to the team. Obviously you feel good about big individual contributions, but we focus more on little contributions.”

Their latest victory, by a whopping 321 runs in Indore, saw Kohli himself come to the fore, becoming the first Indian captain to hit a second double ton (211) during a 365-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane – India’s highest fourthwicket Test partnership.

And while New Zealand battled with half-centuries from Martin Guptill, Tom Latham and Jimmy Neesham, Ashwin still claimed an innings-best 7-59 – his 21st five-wicket haul in just 39 Tests.

But for captain Kane Williamson – dismissed by Ashwin in each of his four innings – it was a performance New Zealand can build upon in the subcontinent.

“When you are put in that situation where you are dismissed in a similar situation, you are able to learn and try to improve on that,” Williamson said.

“The conditions guys are exposed to, and the quality of bowling, in a backhanded way, we can be thankful for those experiences that help move your game forward.”