Indian Test captain Virat Kohli on Monday said following cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s advice to not look up what was written about him helped him focus on the game. “People enjoyed saying I was not a good Test player, and it inspired me further to do better in this format..[Thinking about the team] helped me stay focused on what I had to do on the field,” the 28-year-old said after India won the ongoing five-match series against England.

The skipper, who was named Man of the Match for his splendid 235, added that “realistic targets” and a collective effort by his team helped them score their “sweetest” win of all in recent times. “This series win is probably the sweetest we’ve had in recent times...This is what Test cricket is all about; if you are a champion team, you have to play like a champion team to win a series, and that’s what we did.” He said of the five series won, this was “the best by far” because of the quality of the opposition, and the kind of cricket that we’ve played”.

Kohli also said he believes that the Indian squad’s players have been able to look beyond personal milestones and focus on what is needed for the team as a whole. He was also all praises for off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, whose six-wicket haul also helped India bag the series. “The batsmen have played second fiddle to his [Ashwin’s] performances. Any team would love to have him,” the Test captain said. He also lauded Murali Vijay and Jayant Yadav’s centuries.