Kohli sees no point in brooding over past

India lost a game that they had dominated for most parts and skipper Virat Kohli felt the only way of erasing that pain is by going out and winning the second.

“We definitely have it in us to bounce back,” said Kohli. “There is no point thinking about or living in the past. The game was done that particular day, we all got together in the evening, sat as a team and did not speak about cricket, which I think is the most important thing.

“This is a learning curve, I mean guys will learn how to get over defeats and prepare for the next one and the good thing is everyone is hungry, everyone is keen to perform, everyone’s keen to repeat good habits and not repeat the mistakes of the last game. That helps you focus on the next one, which is the case in our team. Guys understood that things need to be forgotten and they were pretty professional about how we practised yesterday, we had a great session. We are looking forward rather than looking back. The extra bit of effort, that extra 10 per cent, when the situation demands you to seal the game for the team, is something that we need to improve upon. The guys understand that and want to execute it.”

The Indians, in a break away from the usual, batted in pairs at the nets over the last two days, trying to create matchplay situations which Kohli felt is proving very helpful. “We tried something new in nets yesterday. I was telling the boys that 2-3 days before the game we need to bat in pairs at the nets. Doing the same thing again and again is not really helping anyone of us. We talk about playing as a team, why not train as a team. We batted in pairs yesterday, trying to rotate strike after every 5-6 balls. The guys loved it. They were focussed on what the team requires rather than thinking whether the wicket is seaming, the ball is doing so much. It’s just about taking pressure off from some of the lads.”

Emotional game

Skipper Angelo Mathews said the best way to send off the retiring Kumar Sangakkara is by winning the game and with it the series.

“Its going to be an emotional game for all of us. A great of Sri Lanka cricket, a great servant for the team and a great human being saying goodbye to the team. We can’t thank him enough for what he has done for Sri Lanka cricket and the team over the past so many years. We thank him truly and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

“The best we could do is try and win the game so that we win the series and that will be the best farewell for him. We are trying our best to do that. The boys are all well prepared we trained extremely hard in the past two days even though it rained yesterday. We addressed all aspects of the game and are ready to go.”