Sridharan Sriram, a no-nonsense coach very much in the same vein as Darren Lehmann, found a simple way to calm Steve O'Keefe's nerves in Pune.
O'Keefe, by his own admission, bowled a poor first spell during the first Test against India.
Instead of dining with teammates during Friday's lunch break, the 32-year-old asked fellow left-arm spinner Sriram to bowl with him on the field.
Some six wickets in 38 minutes from O'Keefe followed, laying the platform for one of Australia's most unexpected and impressive triumphs ever.
Sriram, whose first-class career in India spanned 18 years, is working with Australia's batsmen and bowlers during the four-Test series as a spin consultant. He knew O'Keefe needed some help on day two.
"He was a little disturbed, he was walking around. I didn't know whether to really speak to him or not. But the conversation happened ... he told me he was a bit nervous," Sriram said.
"He was in his comfort zone and trying to bowl as he would do in Australia.
"I said 'SOK, what do you think you need on this wicket?' and he said 'I need to go a little bit rounder and quicker'.
"And I just said to him 'go for it mate, because you know what you can do and you know what you need to do'.
"He adapted beautifully."
South African Mickey Arthur, Australia's first national cricket coach to come from overseas, never managed to click with many players. Sriram hasn't encountered any such issues with any member of the 16-man Test squad.
"I come in, if I talk sense they listen to me," he said.
"If I talk bull**** they don't. It's as simple as that.
"That's the best thing about this Australian team. They've been open to listen."
The allrounder, who represented India in eight ODIs, was mentored by Rod Marsh at Cricket Australia's academy in 2000 as part of the defunct Border-Gavaskar scholarship scheme.
Sriram is now Lehmann's go-to man on the subcontinent. He worked with the side during last year's World Twenty20 in India and the tour of Sri Lanka.
Sriram also mentored O'Keefe during an Australia A tour of India in 2015.
"I've been following him quite a bit (since) ... he wanted it badly," he said.
"He knew that he was the sort of subcontinent expert that the Australians were looking for ... he stepped up to that beautifully."
Sriram insisted there were no mixed feelings about helping plot the downfall of his homeland.
"I am happy for the Australian spinners," he said.
"They deserved it for the work they have put in."
