Captain Dinesh Chandimal is confident Sri Lanka will put the lessons learnt against New Zealand recently to good use during the two Tests versus Australia coming soon this year.

The Sri Lankans were heavily defeated in the first Test against the Black Caps and drew the second. They will play two Tests against the Australians in Brisbane and Canberra in late January and early February.

‘We have done well in New Zealand in both Tests, especially in the second innings. We just want to start well whether bowling or batting. We learnt from that last series and guys have some game plans. If they can take it out to the middle it will give us a good start,’ said Chandimal.

‘Our fast bowlers are in good shape, and if we can get more than 300 that will be great from the batting unit. The India bowling unit was really good, especially between overs 40 to 80. That’s why they won the series. As a team we just want to do that as well.’

The hosts will be without injured all-rounder Angelo Mathews against an Australian outfit smarting from their recent series defeat to India.

‘We all know how good Angelo is and we will certainly miss him. In the last series he did really well and he has a lot of experience. This is a really good opportunity for the youngsters to show a performance,’ added Chandimal.

‘If you perform against Australia in Australia that will give you more confidence. We have something up our sleeve and if we can execute that we are on the right track.

‘We know how good the Australia team is. We all have ups and downs as teams and individuals, but still Australia are a really good side with really talented players. It’s never easy for subcontinent teams to come here and win a series.’

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