Indian skipper Virat Kohli has insisted India produce a duplicate of their Pakistan destruction when they face Sri Lanka in the ICC Champions Trophy on Thursday. The men in blue made a dream start to the tournament as the defending champions outplayed arch-rivals Pakistan by 124 runs in Birmingham on Sunday.

After India scored as many as 319 for three in 48 overs, they demolished Pakistan by dismissing them for 164 and stopped them from chasing the rain-reduced target of 289. It was the perfect response to reports of a split between Kohli and the team's coach Anil Kumble.

Kohli knows momentum can change swiftly in One-Day Internationals, especially against a desperate Sri Lanka team looking to bounce back from defeat to South Africa in their opener. He said, "Every game in this tournament is big, but we have a side with a few youngsters coming in and gradually getting towards strengthening their careers for India. So I think from that, from the team's point of view, it's a massive win for us. Just the way we played and the confidence we showed throughout the game was something that was very pleasing to see as a captain."

He further elaborated, "Even though we lost the toss, guys were raring and ready to go, willing to take up the pressure. That gave all of us the confidence to start striking the ball well, but initially, the openers gave us a good start as well. As I said, it's a clinical performance from us, from the team's point of view, yes, it is indeed a very big win."

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In the match against Pakistan, Kohli smashed 81* off 68 balls, and Yuvraj Singh was named man-of-the-match for a rapid 53, both assaulted the Pakistan attack after Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan laid the foundation for a big total with an opening stand of 136.

A repeat of that batting onslaught against Sri Lanka at The Oval would put India on course for the semi-finals and Kohli expect Yuvraj to lead the charge again. He said, "After I got to 50, I wasn't able to freely play. And Yuvraj came in and just took all the pressure off me. The way he batted was the way only he can strike the ball. I think that really deflated the opposition. His innings was a difference in the game."

Sri Lanka faced a defeat by 96 runs against South Africa; there is no margin for error for them as they try to avoid elimination. Adding insult to injury, Sri Lanka were later found guilty of a slow over-rate offense by the ICC, with their stand-in skipper Upul Tharanga was banned for their next two matches, and players fined.

Talking about the same, Sri Lanka's regular skipper, Angelo Mathews said, "The whole team is responsible. Whoever the captain is, we have to back him and try to support him in the field. The captain has to do so many other things and stuff to work on. We have addressed in the past as well, but it cropped up again. It's so unfortunate to see Upul going out as he is a crucial player in our set-up. He batted well against South Africa and it's so disappointing. This cannot happen again."