'We understand that we do have a bowling attack that can bowl the opposition out as much as they're convinced about their attack.'
With Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma ruled out, India named a 13-man squad for the second Test which starts on Friday at the new Perth Stadium, with Hanuma Vihari coming back in for Rohit to stiffen the middle order and left-arm spin bowler Ravindra Jadeja replacing Ashwin.
The fast-bowling trio of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah remains available, which could be significant if, as expected, the drop-in wicket at the new venue lives up to Perth's heritage as a paradise for pacemen.
Captain Virat Kohli said that the days when Indian tourists would approach a fiery track with trepidation were long gone.
"We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches now," he told a news conference on Thursday.
"We understand that we do have a bowling attack that can bowl the opposition out as much as they're convinced about their attack.
"When you have four or five pace bowlers who are at the peak of their ability, it's a great feeling to have."
The visitors won the first Test by 31 runs to take a 1-0 lead with three matches remaining and remain on course for a maiden series triumph in Australia.
Kohli said he thought both sides had an equal chance of winning the Test , adding that having a strong pace attack gave the Indian batsmen more confidence as well.
"It boosts us to think that we can put in those match-winning, significant batting performances because we have so much belief in our bowling unit we understand that if we bat well, we will definitely get the result that we want," he added.
"It's a very exciting phase to be in, but something that we need to build on. We cannot be satisfied with one win, we have to keep repeating good things if we want to win series."
When asked about how it feels to be the Indian captain to unleash this ‘best-ever Indian pace attack', Kohli said, "I am lucky that when they are at their peak I am the captain. To be honest I haven't gone scouting for them, they have been playing for a while and it is just that these five have come into their own when I was the captain. So I am not going to sit here and take credit for unleashing some one."
"If you don't get 20 wickets you don't win a Test match, regardless of whether you scored 600 or 700 or 800. It is insignificant. If you get 300 on the board and you have guys who can get 20 wickets then you are fine as a team. The way they have bowled in the last three tours, it is amazing. They are hungry for wickets and are not giving easy runs. I am sure it is very exciting for those who are watching us play."
Certain issues with regard DRS have cropped up after the Adelaide Test, with Australia particularly miffed at some of the marginal decisions not going their way. For India, there is also the issue of no balls, but Kohli underlined that the concerned bowlers have already worked on those.
"We had a word with the umpires. You have to take all the pros and cons of it. Sometimes the inconclusive decisions go your way, sometimes they don't. Sometimes there is a spike in the snickometer but no hotspot. There are variables in the technology for sure. But if it weren't for DRS, you probably would be in a different situation in a game. Probably as a batter or as the fielding side, you don't have any second chance of checking a decision that could be game changing. I am okay with it."
"Nothing is going to be perfect. There is human error too. I don't think anything can be totally error-free. I just think that until a few things are rectified we need to take these in our stride," Kohli said.
