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No.1 ranking a reward for consistency: Kohli

India regained the No.1 Test ranking from Pakistan with their series-clinching victory over New Zealand in Kolkata

India's talismanic captain Virat Kohli played down his team's rise to number one in the Test rankings, saying it was more important to focus on being consistent during their long home season ahead.

"Getting to number one or dropping down is not always in our hands," Kohli said after India displaced Pakistan at the top of ICC rankings with a series-clinching 178-run victory over New Zealand in the second Test at the Eden Gardens on Monday.

Quick Single: India regain top spot after second Test win

"Our objective should be to keep playing consistent cricket and back ourselves with both bat and ball, the way we did here in Kolkata.

"Rankings are just an incentive for what you do on the field. I didn’t even know how many points we needed to go to number one. We just want to win every game that we play."

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India's impressive statistics at home over the last few years - the Kolkata win extended their undefeated streak to 13 on home soil - indicate it will need a spectacular meltdown to dethrone Kohli's men any time soon.

A win or even a draw in the third and final Test in Indore from November 8 will ensure India remains on top of the rankings even if Pakistan rout the West Indies 3-0 in their upcoming series in the United Arab Emirates.

India are due to play a minimum of nine more Tests after Indore at home this season - five versus England and four against Australia - with one more against Bangladesh likely to be squeezed in too.

The newly-laid pitch at the Eden Gardens which favoured both seamers and spinners due to the variable bounce gave the hosts a chance to showcase their all-round strength.

Ups and downs for Kolkata pitch

"It was a lovely Test match due to a brilliant Test wicket," Kohli said. "A bit of variable bounce here and there, but it will get better and better as more matches are played on it."

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who shared 16 wickets in the first Test in Kanpur, almost played second fiddle in Kolkata as new-ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami took charge with 12 wickets.

Kumar picked up a five-wicket haul in New Zealand's first innings as the ball moved both in the air and off the pitch, while Shami again proved himself to be one of the most dangerous reverse-swing bowlers in the game.

The batting too flourished lower down the order when the innings showed signs of floundering. Wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha hit unbeaten half-centuries in both innings to be named man-of-the-match and the enigmatic Rohit Sharma finally came of age with a superb 82 after India were 4-43 in the second innings.

Quick Single: Rohit Sharma comes of age in Kolkata

"There is nothing like it if all your players perform," said Kohli. "When everyone contributes it’s a happy environment, people are happy about what they have done.

"The more we play Test matches like this, the more we will understand how Tests can be won. So we have to keep repeating those things. That's what consistency is."

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Few gave New Zealand a chance to surpass the target of 376 -- the highest fourth-innings score ever at the Eden Gardens -- in the absence of captain and star batsman Kane Williamson due to illness.

Hopes rose briefly when Martin Guptill and Tom Latham produced the best opening stand of the series (a partnership of 55) but the rest of the batting caved in under sustained pressure applied by the Indians.

Stand-in captain Ross Taylor said the hot and humid weather in both Kanpur and Kolkata told on the visitors and suggested players needed more exposure to Indian conditions in order to compete successfully.

"This is definitely up with hottest Test series I’ve been part of," Taylor said. "A lot of Indian bowlers and batsmen were tired too because it was pretty hot and humid.

"In the ideal world, it would be good to send players and get exposure. It comes down to funding, but at least some players come for the IPL (Indian Premier League) and mix and mingle with the stars of today to get knowledge.

"Kohli said it will be cooler in Indore, so I’m happy."