India in SL

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir said he needs to convert his starts into big runs after he perished for 71 on Friday in Colombo.

Speaking to a TV channel, Gambhir, who has been the most consistent Indian batsman on show beside opening partner Virender Sehwag said: "I know I need to convert my 70's into big runs. Hopefully, I would be able to do that in my next innings, which would be the most crucial innings of the series."

Gambhir said he was in fine form and he wanted to make good use of it: "I am in good form and pretty relaxed. It is very important to make good use of the kind of form I am in."

The stylish southpaw said India are still in with a good chance in the Test despite being bowled out for 249 on the first day.

"We still have a lot of cricket left in the Test.If we can come back on Saturday and knock over a few early wickets, Sri Lanka would be under pressure."

"We have already seen in the series that the Sri Lankan batsmen are susceptible to pressure."

Gambhir said he did not make any special preparations to deal with Ajantha Mendis.

"I just watch the ball and react to it. And as it is I don't think we need to worry a lot about Mendis. We have experienced batsmen in our ranks and they know what to do."

However, Gambhir admitted his team just did not bat enough on a track which did not have much for the bowlers: ""It is a fantastic wicket to bat on to be very honest. There was hardly anything for the bowlers. There was nothing for the fast bowlers. Nothing for the spinners. It is just that we did not bat well. We should have got much more score than what we got."

Sri Lanka will resume day two at 14 for one, 235 runs behind India's first innings total.