India will lock horns with Sri Lanka in the second Test match of the series at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday.
The hosts have handed Virat Kohli-led Team India a 63 run drubbing in the first Test at the Galle International Stadium in Kandy. In a shocking turn of events, where Sri Lanka were trying to avoid a follow-on they snatched the match away from the Indians and that too with one day to spare.
Kohli has made it clear that India are desperate to bounce back strongly in the series and they have it in him to mark a turn around.
"We definitely have it in us to bounce back. There is no point thinking about or living in the past. More often than not, if you dominate six sessions, it means that you are on top in the Test match and you should be able to win the game but that wasn't the case," Kohli said at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
"But the preparation has been pretty good for this particular Test match. This is a learning curve, and the guys will learn how to get over defeats and prepare for the next one. The good thing is everyone is hungry and keen to perform. The guys understood that things need to be forgotten and they were pretty professional," the skipper added.
Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the rest of the series. Murali Vijay was also nursing a hamstring injury, but is expected to be fully fit for the second Test. Vijay, along with KL Rahul, is supposed to take care of the opening slot.
"We will know today if he is hundred percent fit to play or not. His rehab program is going well under Patrick Farhart who is our new physio. Hopefully he is fully fit. If he wants to play and is keen then I am sure he can go through whatever discomfort he might have to go through. We will have to take that call but we are pretty certain that he is most probably going to play tomorrow," Kohli added.
The captain also backed the selectors' decision of including all-rounder Stuart Binny. He said Binny adds a lot of variety to the squad and he can also be used as the third seamer.
Most likely, if Binny makes it to the playing XI, it will be at the cost of spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been average so far in the tour and has managed to pick up a solitary wicket in the first Test.
"We have got Stuart Binny because his bowling gives us balance. His batting at number six will help us too. We will look at the wicket tomorrow. But I feel that even if you don't have five full-time bowlers, the fifth has to be one who can bowl 10-15 overs. It is very helpful in certain situations.
"Bringing in Stuart gives us the option of a third seamer. You need to make a call on the bowling attack thinking how the wicket will turn out to be during the course of the game. You just can?t get excited on the first day of play about a certain combination and then feel like maybe you should have played someone else. These things need to be looked at kept and we will keep our options open," Kohli said.
