'No looking back' – Kohli keen to make history at Sydney

India have long yearned for a series victory in Australia, and with the 137-run victory at Melbourne, they are in prime position to achieve that for the first time ever.

Skipper Virat Kohli was thrilled about securing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy regardless of the outcome at Sydney but stressed on the team's "obsession" to go ahead and make history in the New Year's Test at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.

"If you have to, or want to win a series away from home, it has to be an obsession," Kohli said.

"There is no looking back. It is the last Test of the series. You have to give everything that you have to win a series."

Stressing that winning away from home was the team's "goal from day one", Kohli added, "It's a great opportunity from the point of view that we always wanted to win a series away from home, actually every series that you play."

India's pace attack has looked lethal overall, but Jasprit Bumrah has looked particularly good. He is leading the wicket-takers charts for the series with 20 wickets at 14.65. Those figures include his 9/86 at Melbourne, which proved key to India's success.

In just his first year of Test cricket Bumrah has already achieved the distinction of being the first Indian bowler to take five-wicket hauls in England, South Africa and Australia in a calendar year. He finishes 2018 with a whopping 48 wickets from nine Tests at 21.02.

Kohli was effusive in his praise for the fast bowler's dedication towards becoming an excellent red-ball operator after first bursting on to the scene as a white-ball specialist.

"He was that obsessed about his fitness levels and his work ethic. So we discussed before South Africa that if we just put him as a surprise package, he could be the answer if he gets his lines and lengths right," Kohli said.

"The mindset he has is what separates him from anyone else in the world right now. He looks at a pitch and doesn't think it's a hard toil - he thinks wickets. He thinks, 'how can I make a breakthrough for the team'.

"Your mindset separates you from the rest. He is as strong as I have seen anyone in the past and that's the key to his success. What I have seen in the past 12 months - he has matured in Test cricket.

"The areas he has been bowling so soon, so quickly in his Test career, I think is a very scary sign for all the batsmen around the world. In Test cricket, if there is a pitch like Perth, I wouldn't want to face Jasprit Bumrah to be honest because he is once on a roll, he can really crank it up.

"The way he bowls is so much different to anyone. I think he realises that more than the batsman and that is why he is so confident about his game."