Virat Kohli has said his two manic centuries within 13 days of each other - off 52 and 61 balls - were a result not of brute force but his solid technique. The two innings were instrumental in India's completing successful chases of 350-plus scores. India are the only team to have done so twice.
"That's the main thing when you want to take on bowlers who're bowling at 150kph," Kolhi said. "If you have worked on your technique properly, you can back yourself to hold your position and hit where you want to. More often than not, against very quick bowlers, you're not in a good position to hit a big shot or two-three boundaries an over. But if you have a strong base and have worked on your technique, you're much more confident about hitting the ball where you want.
"That plays a major role; you need to have a strong technique to play the big shots as well. I keep working on that in practice sessions. I'm not a great fan of batting in the nets. All I do is some throw-downs before the game; I just hold my position, just middle the ball and time it properly in the practice sessions."
Another technique that came in for praise from Kohli was Shikhar Dhawan's. Kohli is pleased Dhawan has sorted his thinking out to go with his game, which he - as a youngster - used to go to the grounds to watch. "Well, it's funny because Shikhar was, when he played the Under-19 World Cup, a superstar straight away. He was the highest run-scorer. He came back to Delhi, and I remember we used to go watch his games. I used to be a small kid and we used to watch Shikhar bat.
"It's funny, because he never got a chance to play for India before because of the two greats of Indian cricket [Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir] who were so strong at the top of the Indian batting that he didn't get a chance. But I think his batting was tremendous right from the Under-19 days. He was a standout performer all the time. But I think his thinking has evolved a lot in the last year and a half. He's so sure about his game now, he knows where he'll score his runs, he's sure of his own batting, his own strengths. I think that's the most important thing in international cricket, if you're sure about what you want to do out in the middle. And he's mentally very strong now."
Kohli, like others who followed Dhawan in domestic cricket, was also disappointed at his loose shots in otherwise attractive innings. "He doesn't [do that] now… I think he was a little dicey about his thinking before," Kohli said. "He'd play a rash shot at the wrong time and get out, and [only] he would himself know why he did that. Now he has become much more intelligent, he has become much more aware of his own strengths. That's working beautifully for him. But he has always been a special talent and you can see it for India now. He's a match-winner, you'll see him winning more games for India in the future. I'm glad he's doing so well at the top."