Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli talks to Radio Tarana ahead of their 10-match tour of New Zealand starting today at Eden Park.

Besides displaying virtues like patience, perseverance and team effort while executing their plans to perfection on the pitch – resulting in a memorable test series sweep, New Zealand were also meticulous in their approach off it.

By avoiding unnecessary verbal exchanges, refraining from riling up a set of overtly passionate visiting players and using sugarcoated statements, eulogy and flattery as potent weapons the Black Caps not only negated retaliation but also showcased a strategic masterstroke when it comes to facing Team India.

It was the quarterfinal of the 1996 ICC World Cup. Pakistan, chasing 288 to win against arch rivals India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, was comfortably placed 109 for one, with stand-in captain Aamir Sohail dominating the Indian bowlers.

PHOTOSPORT NZ captain Kane Williamson in action at the Basin Reserve.

Sohail celebrated his half century by smashing Venkatesh Prasad to the extra cover boundary, and then aggressively pointed his bat at the bowler. It took Prasad one ball to shatter the batsman's stumps and give him an equally charged-up send-off. India dominated from that point.

PHOTOSPORT Virat Kohli of India and Kane Williamson shake hands after the second test.

The second test during the Indian tour down under in 2007-08, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, was controversial to say the least with poor sportsmanship on display and a number of erratic umpiring decisions – resulting in Australia winning the match that seemed to be heading for a draw.

India's Harbhajan Singh was charged with racial abuse, in an incident involving Andrew Symonds, and initially banned for three tests (later lifted). An emotionally charged Indian team, after threatening to abandon the tour, fought back to beat Australia in the third test in Perth – their first and so far only win at the venue, thereby ending Ricky Ponting's side's run of consecutive test wins at 16.

Those are just two of the many examples of how unnecessary aggression by opponents pumped up the Indian team and motivated them to come back hard. Those incidents happened at a time when the Indians weren't known for being aggressive on the field, unless of course their opponents ruffled a few feathers.

GETTY IMAGES Wild celebration by India as Kane Williamson is dismissed for 3 in Christchurch.

Teams such as Australia, England and Pakistan have often used tactics like pre-match "mind games" and on-the-field sledging in a bid to unsettle the Indian players.

At times they did succeed but on other occasions they got it back in the same coin. Truth be told to the players, as well as to the average Indian fan, beating the Aussies (considered an ugly side), England (owing to the colonial past) and Pakistan (history and partition) are considered satisfying results.

Others are essentially teams that can be whipped as and when required. That said India has poor overall record in the so called SENA countries – South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia, and there is desperation to improve it.

Virat Kohli loses his cool with the Christchurch crowd.

​Sourav Ganguly was the first Indian captain to instill aggression among his players, inspiring them to take charge in a manner similar to the Australians. He led India to test wins in England and Australia, laying the foundation for successful and fearless Indian teams of recent times. Over the years riling up the Indian team and evoking an emotionally charged response has been a recipe for disaster for opponents.

India under Virat Kohli, has progressed massively when it comes to aggression. Now, Indian players can take the lead when it comes to sledging, hurling abuses at opponents (mostly in Hindi) and dictating terms when it comes to mind games.

Their on-the-field performance has improved tremendously over the last two decades, and coupled with their board's dominant stature, financial muscle and resulting control over the sport's governing body has ensured overall smooth sailing. With fear of consequences getting mitigated every passing year India these days is a case of misplaced aggression.

HAMISH BLAIR/GETTY Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa of India celebrate their World T20 triumph in 2007.

​Kohli and company may not think twice about the repercussions before sledging an opponent these days, they don't take it very kindly when the opponents return the favour. And it is the resultant flared up emotions, every time the team gets provoked, that inspires this team to strive for a result that will prove a point, thereby having the final word.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has known Kohli since his early days as a cricketer – when both captained their respective sides in the Under-19 World Cup in 2008. Even as the two extremely gifted, albeit diametrically opposite cricketers have proceeded to captain the senior teams and shared a good bond off the field, it is Williamson who has been the smarter of the two.

Aware of both Kohli's abilities with the bat and his aggressive attitude, Williamson has ensured none of his teammates is insinuating or aggressive. Instead, the New Zealanders have been effusive in their praise, at times bordering on flattery. The pragmatic leader in Williamson, aware of the abundant talent at India's disposal, has instead focused his energies in making optimum use of his available resources.

TIM HALES/NZPA India's Harbhajan Singh had a war of words with Australian Andrew Symonds.

This astute thinking has helped New Zealand get the better of Team India on occasions that matter. In the 2019 ICC World Cup, for example, no one gave them a chance against the favourites. Yet it was India left disappointed, and at a loss for words, after losing their semifinal in Manchester.

Again, India landed in New Zealand in late January as favourites, which they quickly underlined with a 5-0 whitewash in the T20I series. When the visitors lost the following one-day series the format was conveniently dismissed as "not relevant in this calendar year". So it all came down to the test series.

India had not lost in a test match in 2019. Wins in each of their last seven tests had cemented top spot in the ongoing 2019-21 World Test Championships. New Zealand, on the other hand had suffered their most humiliating defeat on Australian soil – in a series they were favorites to begin with. Williamson was careful in his choice of words ahead of the opening test at the Basin Reserve, in Wellington.

"India is a world-class side. They have so many quality batsmen in their line-up, and have got a world-class pace attack that has performed in all conditions. They are ranked No.1 for a reason," the New Zealand captain said in sugarcoated statements.

In the match the Indian players' antics were on full display – excessive appealing, overt celebrations, insinuations, send offs and whole lot of emotion. Williamson and his men, on the other hand, refrained from going overboard. It turned out to be a four-day affair resulting in a 10-wicket win for New Zealand – their 100th in the traditional format.

New Zealand continued to remain circumspect ahead of the second test in Christchurch. The Indian media read tried to blow up the comments made by the likes of Neil Wagner and Trent Boult ahead of the test. It's a move intended to instigate the Indian team, wake them up from their slumber. It didn't yield the desired results.

KIRK HARGREAVES/THE PRESS Australia suffered defeat to India, after Andrew Symonds riled them up.

The Hagley Oval match ended inside three days, with the home side completing a memorable clean sweep. Williamson was again at his modest best when describing the series win, calling it "satisfying".

The captain's prudence notwithstanding history will record this series as one where New Zealand had managed to keep a famed Indian batting at bay in all the four innings. More importantly, they had succeeded in restricting Kohli's contributions.

The Indian captain had a forgettable series, scoring only 38 runs (at 9.5) in the two tests, and a paltry 218 runs across the three formats (at 19.8).

PHOTOSPORT Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson watching on from the sidelines.

By his standards it was a colossal failure, a pill difficult to swallow for a player with as much self pride as him. Worse still, in the second test Kohli was captured on camera hurling abuse, mocking fans and animated at the fall of New Zealand wickets.

Even Williamson, upon his dismissal in the first innings, saw his opposite number run across him and give a send off. When Tom Latham and Tom Blundell were racing away to the target in the Kiwi's second innings, Kohli was heard telling his teammates that New Zealand will be shown their place when they tour India.

Indian media later reported Kohli telling his teammates (in Hindi), "Jab India mein yeh log aayengey, tab dikha doonga (When they will come to India, we will show them)."

PETER MEECHAM/STUFF Indian Cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly was an aggressive leader.

At the post match presser the Indian captain was miffed with a scribe who asked an awkward question pertaining to the Williamson send off.

Williamson, as expected, shrugged oi off. "It is Virat, and he is passionate on the field. I don't think we need to read too much into it."

A day after the win Tim Southee was quoted reiterating his captain's defense of Kohli, using the same "passionate guy" explanation. It marked a continuation of what had been the norm throughout the series.

AP India's Virat Kohli gestures to the crowd during play on day one of the second cricket test.

New Zealand had very smartly refrained from instigating a set of overtly passionate players, thereby negating the possibility of retaliation on the field.

Instead they had combined their trademark restrain with ample doses of sugarcoated statements, eulogy and flattery, and used them as potent weapons to force an in-form and supremely talented squad into submission, in the process showcasing to the cricketing world a strategic masterstroke when it comes to facing Team India.