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Injured Dhoni to miss first Test

Kohli to lead India for first time

India captain MS Dhoni will miss the first Commonwealth Bank Test against Australia due to a thumb injury.

Dhoni batted and bowled at India's training session on Sunday in Adelaide, but he is not yet ready to keep wickets in a Test.

Virat Kohli confirmed on Monday he will lead the side on Tuesday, when the four-Test series starts at Adelaide Oval.

"Yes, I will be leading tomorrow," Kohli said.

"We expect (Dhoni) to be 100 per cent fit in the next few days ... we want him to be 100 per cent before he plays a game."

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Kohli vowed to fight fire with fire in his first Test as Indian captain, and backed his pacemen to cause Australia's batsmen some trouble.

"This one of the best bowling attacks we've had in a while,” he said. “(We have) guys who are bowling with pace and they're fit.”

Asked about combating Mitchell Johnson, who claimed 37 wickets in the 2013-14 Ashes series, Kohli noted his side couldn't focus on one man.

"We're not giving it too much importance," he said.

"There's nothing very special about a particular individual or a few individuals."

Kohli attended Phillip Hughes's funeral last Wednesday and suggested the 25-year-old's death had hit his squad hard.

But Kohli said they had found a way to quickly focus on training.

"You have to move on with the game and we don't want to be in a position where we're lacking in preparation going into the first Test," he said.