From 113 for 1 in the 17th over, India were reduced to 131 for 7 in the 22nd over with mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya taking six wickets in a sensational spell and the visiting side were looking down the barrel.
But a 100-run partnership between Mahendra Singh Dhoni (45 not out) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (53 not out) for the unbroken eighth wicket ensured that India beat Sri Lanka by three wickets and go up 2-0 in the five-match series.
But asked about this after the match, Kohli said he has no regrets about his decision to change the batting order.
"When you're 110 for 1 in a chase of 230, you want to give everyone a chance to bat. I don't have any regrets. If I had come at No. 3, I would have still missed that ball because he (Akila Dananjaya) was bowling that well," Kolhi, who was dismissed for just four runs, said.
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He gave credit to unheralded mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya, who took six for 54 from his 10 overs to wreck havoc of the Indian innings.
"We thought he was the off-spinner with a good leg-break, but he got four wickets off googlies. We'll be more careful next time. Credit to him for pitching the ball in the right areas."
"The off-spin was working, so continuously used the variations. I came back to the hotel at around 11pm last night," he said.
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