Australia chasing rare subcontinent series win

The pressure may be off, but the incentive is high for Australia to improve their dismal record on the subcontinent by claiming an elusive Test series victory in Sri Lanka.

Stand-in captain Steve Smith has admitted beating India in the finale of the recent home summer took the sting out of the tail for the two-match series, which begins in picturesque Galle on Wednesday.

A loss at the SCG would have left Australia relying on results in Sri Lanka to punch their ticket to the World Test Championship Final at Lord's later this year.

Instead, Australia mounted a successful day-three run chase to ensure they would meet South Africa for a shot at consecutive WTC titles.

"Every series is huge, I think this one's obviously a little bit less for us as we've qualified for the final," Smith said the day before the start of the opening Test against Sri Lanka.

"But you want to win every series that you play. We've got a really good squad, we've got all bases covered.

"Some guys might get an opportunity to showcase their skills and put their best foot forward for other Asia tours."

Putting their collective best foot forward on the subcontinent will motivate Australia in the absence of WTC implications.

Success in Asia has been hard to come by; a 1-0 defeat of Pakistan in 2022 marks Australia's only series win in any of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates or Bangladesh in the past 10 years.

The team has played seven Asian series in that time, with a 3-0 drubbing from Sri Lanka in 2016 the most one-sided.

Australia shared the spoils the last time they visited the island nation for two Tests in 2022, but their defeat in the second match marked the first time in 33 meetings they had lost to Sri Lanka by more than an innings.

Having conquered India for a first series win in a decade, Smith and the Australians are now eyeing the chance for success abroad.

"We weren't able to get the job done here last time. It was 1-1 and India, we weren't able to win there (in 2023)," said Smith.

"It's is a tricky place to play. It's foreign to us. A lot of us have played here now so we understand the conditions.

"It's going to be a tricky series, no doubt, but we're looking forward to it and hopefully we can get on top this time."

Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka will miss the first match with a groin injury and is likely to be replaced by either 19-time Test top-order batter Oshada Fernando or uncapped Lahiru Udara.

Nissanka is expected to be fit for the second match.

"We haven't decided on an XI as of now as the weather patterns are changing and we will make a final call tomorrow morning," said Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva on Tuesday afternoon.