Before the series, I was just looking to be at the best I could be: Ravichandran Ashwin

Colombo: Man of the series Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday said that he has focussed more on Test cricket during the last one year as he has come to terms with the fact that the longer format is no "child's play".

"The last 10-12 months I have been more focused on Test cricket. I came to terms with the fact that Test cricket is no child's play. I wanted to be serious about every aspect of the game and be as focused as possible," Ashwin said at the post series media conference.

Ashwin got 21 wickets in the series and the icing on the cake was a half-century in the Indian second innings on Monday. "Before the series, I was just looking to be at the best I could be. Everyday of this particular series, I wanted to be in that particular rhythm that I was on the first day in Galle. The rhythm was one thing I wanted to get all through the series. Every game, there was a spell in which I got into a perfect rhythm," Ashwin looked back at the past one month with a lot of satisfaction.

On the final day's proceedings, Ashwin conceded that they had to play the waiting game for a certain period of time when Kusal Perera and Angelo Mathews added 145 runs for the fifth wicket.

"The ball got really soft and it stopped swinging for the fast bowlers as well. We identified the fact that we needed to keep the runs in check and also keep things quiet so that when one wicket fell, we could really capitalise on it," said Ashwin.

"Even before the game, we had identified this as the phase where runs would go. We were always stacking it up for the second new ball to come, so we were really prepared to take the game as deep as possible and that's what Test cricket is all about. I think we as a unit stuck to it pretty well," he added.

Ashwin had been troubled a lot by the tennis elbow issue and he thanked the support staff for standing by him. "I have to be very thankful to the team management and the coaches. I have been struggling with a tennis elbow issue and I had to make certain technical adjustments to my batting.”

"It has taken a bit of time. I wanted to contribute but unfortunately I couldn't spend more time in the middle. Yesterday (Monday), was one day where the game situation demanded me to put everything behind and watch the ball closely. Thankfully, it came off really well and I struck the ball really well," he said.

Ashwin admitted that the heat and humidity took its toll as there was every possibility that one among five bowlers was bound to be under-bowled. "The heat was very testing here. Ideally, a three or four-over spell is not perfect for a spinner. But I think it is also the fact that when we play five bowlers, some bowler gets under-bowled. If you look up to the scoreboard today (Tuesday), everyone has bowled 14 to 19 overs, and you needed that final thrust. We were all there to give that thrust. That's one positive side of it."

"There will be days when you can bowl a longer spell. It happened in the last Test. So its also about coming to terms with what kind of spell I would like and what kind of spell Virat likes to operate me in," he said.

"So we will develop it over time. As it is, we have no qualms in talking and discussing. I can tell him on the field what I feel like. I think it’s great in that," he added.

Ashwin said that during some of the spells during this series, Ishant was really quick. "In the last couple of Test matches, Ishant bowled exceptionally well. I think there were a few spells where it felt like the batsmen couldn't even touch the ball. That's how well he was bowling. When those kinds of spells happen, we know pretty much that pressure is going to build on from both sides. So we try and feed off each others' spells from the other side. Its a great thing,” Ashwin said.

The Tamil Nadu tweaker also likes the fact that Kohli is a good communicator and expects the same from the boys as well. "We are trying to be interactive and Virat is really embracing the fact that we need to communicate well with each other. That's one aspect that has really come a long way on this tour," he concluded.