Cheteshwar Pujara spent so much time batting in India's Border-Gavaskar triumph over Australia that coach Ravi Shastri told him he should've accepted his man-of-the-series award with pads on.
Pujara spent longer out in the middle than any other player in India's historic 2-1 series victory, batting for more than 22 hours for his 521 runs at an average of 74.42 across the four Tests.
"He was exceptional in this series," Shastri said.
"He can bat and bat and bat.
"He made one mistake - that was at the presentation. He should have padded up and gone up and they would have given him the trophy without even mentioning his name."
Pujara virtually batted Australia out of the summer on his own.
His faced 1258 balls - more than double any Australian. So too was his average as he notched up centuries in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
He is India's fifth-highest run-scorer against Australia ahead of even Virat Kohli, having also hit two centuries at home against the Aussies.
"The first hundred was special," Pujara said.
"Scoring a hundred at Adelaide Oval and going 1-0 up in a four-Test series is something we were all aiming for.
"It's a great feeling for all of us. We've been working really hard to win a series overseas.
"As a batsman, you just need to get used to pace and bounce (in Australia). That is something I've worked on ... playing some county cricket has definitely helped me improve my technique."
