Calcutta: Virat Kohli termed India's 75-run series-levelling win against Australia as the best so far of his captaincy career. "Till now, this is the best one, definitely. It was quite an emotional game for us, quite draining as well," Kohli said the post-match media conference on Tuesday.

Besides, he also hit back at former Australia 'keeper Ian Healy who criticised him the other day for constantly sledging the Australians.

Excerpts

On the dramatic victory

Till now, this is the best one, definitely. The best so far of my captaincy career. It was quite an emotional game for us, quite draining as well. Everyone got along together and we showed the team spirit. A lot of people were talking about the head of the snake, but I think the snake did pretty well by itself, showing it's not just about one individual. I'm pretty happy if people keep focusing on the head of the snake, because the snake can sting from a lot of directions. I think they need to keep that in mind. But all said and done, I think this was the sweetest victory for us.

On the bowlers' performance on Day II

In the first session on Day II, we gave away only 45-odd runs and picked up two wickets when they could have taken the game away from us. I think that was probably the change in momentum that we needed. Throughout the day, we didn't give more than 200 runs (197 to be precise) and picked up six wickets. I think that for us was quite important and something you look for as a team. Someone has to step up and do the job for you. I think (Ravindra) Jadeja was outstanding in the first innings along with our fast bowlers. Their spells again were very, very good. There was relentless pressure from one end by Umesh (Yadav) and Ishant (Sharma) and then Jadeja picking up those wickets later on. Those are the kind of things you need as a team to change the tide that's going against you.

One thing is that we never stopped trying. We didn't give in, didn't let the opposition to totally roll over us. We knew if they didn't get a big first-innings total, then end of Day II and III is the best time to bat here while Day IV was going to be very difficult. We saw the first-class stats and no team chased 120-odd in the fourth innings. So we knew that once we get 150-plus, we have a fair chance to have a go at them. Eventually we surprised ourselves by winning by 75 runs, honestly.

On dealing with pressure after the Pune debacle

If the opponents are saying that they need to get me out and the team will fall apart, I told everyone else, 'it's an opportunity for you'. Let the pressure come, I have no problem. It doesn't make a difference to me whether I perform or not, as I just look to learn from failures. If you perform well and the team wins, then obviously you're pleased. But you just want your team to win. We addressed it and said let their focus be on this, and if they don't focus on the others, they'll let the momentum slip. And that's exactly what happened. They basically played into our hands. But at the same time, you need two-three people to step up and take responsibility and I feel that the partnership between Ajinkya and Pujara, in a situation where the momentum was against us in the series, was outstanding. In the last two years it's one of the top two partnerships or maybe No.1, because retrieving the lost momentum and giving the team the lead was a question of character. And they both showed why they are India's best Test batsmen.

On Lokesh Rahul

The last three innings have been Rahul's best three so far. And I told him, 'You'll cherish the ones that you don't get hundreds in as they're so valuable for the team. You'll understand their importance later'. He's in a very good zone. He wants to convert his starts into big hundreds, which he's done in the past. I think he's stuck in really well. He's shown a lot of character and I'm sure in the coming games he'd like to push that score forward and put the team into a more consolidating position. Hats off to the way he's played. Young guy, big series, team up against the wall and he shows character three times out of four innings... Simply outstanding...

On Ian Healy's criticism

I'll lose respect in his eyes? We've got 1.2 billion people in India. So, one person doesn't make a difference in my life. And also I think you should go and search on YouTube, when he was given out in Centurion, down the leg side. I heard he said something about me not behaving well with umpires. I think you all should look that video and I think, yeah, that says it all. Just see that video ...

On the Ranchi Test

We can't do much about the Ranchi pitch as we know how it's always been... Slow and low... It's about how you mentally prepare, mentally what kind of zone you're in as a team. I think this was the kind of game we needed to forget that hiccup in Pune and move forward again as a pack. Yeah, the spinners have been outstanding and they will definitely look to back their strengths and dominate the home season as they've done so far.