Virat Kohli : It always feels good to score runs for the team win

Indian skipper Kohli showed his form despite failing to touch the double digit mark in the first innings by promptly scoring a century in the second innings and completing his 17th ton in only his 58th match.

"I think the second innings required us to play a bit more positively and I am glad I was able to do that along with Abhinav Mukund. It helped to get us enough time to get the opposition out and put enough runs on the board for us to feel comfortable.”

"I mean I certainly wasn't looking at how many innings I haven't scored because when you are playing all formats you are not thinking which format you have not scored runs in how many innings. You cannot utilise so much energy in that but it always feels good to score runs especially when the team wins," Kohli, who scored 103 not out, added.

In comparison with Sri Lankan players, India performed very well in all departments, despite playing their first test series in several months. The Indian team played their last test match against Australia in February, and followed it up with a lot of cricket in the shorter formats of the game.

"All in all, playing Test cricket after February when we played last, from then having played so much one-day cricket and not having the time to prepare so much in between I think it was good to get back in the groove and do the things that are supposed to be done to win a Test match," said Kohli.

"From that point of view, I would say that we had a pretty good game. As I mentioned we always look for things that we can still improve on, but very happy with the first game," the 28-year-old opined.

"The last time when we played here on this surface, it offered much more to the bowlers. It kept the bowlers in the game throughout, both the quicks and the spinners more so. This time it was good to bat on even till today, and if you applied yourselves well you could easily score runs on this.

"So we had to work hard to get all the wickets that we did. I think the bowlers came up with different plans and they persisted long enough to get those breakthroughs. That is something that always helps at the beginning of the series if you get a victory like that on a surface that is not offering much," explained the skipper.

"Plus they know what they have to do on the pitch to get people out now which is the most important factor. Especially in Test matches, if you are not getting wickets, then how to contain runs or how to create opportunities to get wickets.

"Even batsmen have become smarter now. You don't need to necessarily tell someone how to bat or how to plan an innings. They understand, they prepare themselves really well, so guys have become more professional in the last two years and they understand how Test matches are won. That understanding of the game is something that has come a long way in the last three years," he said.