India captain Virat Kohli was wary that the retiring Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara would "like to leave a very significant mark on international cricket before he goes" ahead of their Test match, which begins on Wednesday (12th August).

"Yeah it is my first series, first full series as captain. As I said before it is a great opportunity to create some momentum knowing it is a three-match series, having some plans in mind, having the time and opportunity to execute those plans, even if you have an off-day, an off-session, an off-game, you still have time to re-group and think about what went wrong or if you have a good game you'll learn from it, you know, the positives and the areas that need improvement."

"So yeah I am very excited because it is an opportunity, not only for me, but all of us as a new Indian team. We're all pretty early in our careers, so it is a very exciting time for me and the whole squad."

"You see all the ICC tournaments Sri Lanka is one team that his always right up there, you might not be counting them as favourites when the tournament starts, but they are always making the semi's or the finals. So I think that's credit to their attitude and the kind of intensity and aggression that they bring onto the field."

"It's a great opportunity for this whole bunch of boys to improve and grow together as international cricketers and once you gain that sort of momentum you will see better understanding and a better co-ordination in the field, because of the fact that everyone has gone through the same times together. I see that as a big positive and a big opportunity for all of us to improve massively as Test cricketers more importantly, because we play so much one-day cricket and T20's anyway, this is one format that every member in the squad wants to do well and improve their cricketing."