High on confidence after their convincing victory in the fourth Test against England at The Oval, the Indian team got to business straightaway as they prepared for the fifth and final Test in Manchester.
Let us look at the batters who finally managed to hit three figures after a prolonged period of time.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the fifth Test against England?
'Rahul needs to play county cricket, but will he skip the IPL?'
Shreyas Iyer sparkled with a half-century on debut, while Ravindra Jadeja also hit an unbeaten fifty to keep New Zealand at bay on Day 1 of the first Test in Kanpur on Thursday.
Following the massive win, congratulations poured in for the champions from all quarters with Sachin Tendulkar leading the nation in wishing the players.
India ended the third day of the third Test at Headingly at 215 for the loss of two wickets.
Team combination a worry for India
Rizwan said advice from Pujara helped him
Images from Day 4 in the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Sunday.
England lead India by 345 runs at the end of day 2 of the third Test.
India ended Day 3 at The Oval at 270 for the loss of three wickets.
BCCI tweets "All buckled up South Africa bound".
The legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane repaid the trust that was shown in them, adding it is easy to get excited by young talents but the team should continue showing faith in its senior players.
Images from Day 3 in the second Test between India and New Zealand, in Mumbai on Sunday.
The wait finally ended for Cheteshwar Pujara as he had his first batting stint in Australia during India's net session in Sydney on Thursday.
India captain KL Rahul said he trusted his batting unit to do the job for the side despite losing seven wickets while chasing a modest 145 on day four of the second and final Test against Bangladesh.
'To be fair to curators, they hardly got time to prepare the wicket. They had a Ranji season here and it was pretty late that it was decided the game will be shifted from Dharamsala. They did not get enough time.'
It's been more than a decade since India lost a Test series at home - they had lost to England 1-2 in 2012.
The Indian team seemed to enjoy their training session in Centurion as they prepared for the opening Test against South Africa on Sunday.
The Australians 'swept' their way to self-destruction in the face of the Indian spinners' guile in the second Test in Delhi on Sunday.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dominated with the ball for India while Virat Kohli ended his long wait for a Test century.
India's Test specialists, including senior speedster Ishant Sharma, toiled hard at the nets on the second day of the short camp in Mumbai on Tuesday as they braced up for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
'Excellent setting for an intra-squad match simulation here in Southampton.'
Pujara's strike-rate has been a constant subject of debate for sometime now
In recent years, India's batters have struggled against spin.
India captain KL Rahul admitted that his team was made to really work hard by Bangladesh to register a comprehensive 188-run win in the first Test of the two-match series in Chattogram on Sunday.
Sheldon Jackson top-scored for Saurashtra with a 44-ball 64 as they overcame a late challenge from Kerala to win by nine runs and set up a last eight clash against Mumbai.
While the others seemed relaxed, Pujara stood at attention.
Pujara is seen playing the forward defence, the pull shot and cover drive.
The out-of-favour India batter, who is in sparkling form, is making most of his county stint. He now has scored two hundreds and as many double centuries in his five innings.
Vihari capitalised on the opportunity by playing a knock of 58
Despite India in a difficult position, Pant played fearlessly and scored regular boundaries.
England pacer James Anderson on Thursday surpassed Sachin Tendulkar as the cricketer to play the most number of Test matches on home soil.
Saurashtra have never had it better in Indian domestic cricket's rich history, having won their second Ranji Trophy title in three seasons
Rohit Sharma feels there can't be a one-size-fits-all approach for batting on turning pitches in India.
Australia's blockbuster four-Test series against India will be the greatest challenge Pat Cummins has faced in his young captaincy as he looks to conquer the "final frontier".
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the first Test against Australia?
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against South Africa, starting on January 3?
Gavaskar pointed out the slow approach from the New Zealand players batted in the summit clash as the conditions were not very suitable for batting.
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