Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, has stated that his team would “take a lot of lessons” to India the following year after losing by an innings in Galle.

The tourists missed their chance to win the series on these soils by losing nine wickets to Sri Lanka in the last session of Day 4. In the opening test, they were in complete control and easily established a 1-0 lead before settling for a 1-1 draw.

“I believe that just 50% of our batting team and 50% of our bowling lineup have experience playing on the subcontinent. Therefore, I believe we learned a lot from the experience on these two drastically different wickets [in Galle] that we can apply to India the following year “Cummins said.

“These are the tours where you learn heaps. We learned heaps during our win last week, unfortunately, it’s through a loss this time. I thought a lot of the guys, either on their first tour here or others who were coming back, everyone found a method that worked. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out today. As a batting and bowling group, I think we can go home pretty pleased.”

Cummins said that the defeat served as a useful “reality check” for Australia under circumstances that were very unlike those at home. They just completed a successful tour of Pakistan, in which they won 1-0. They were rather confident going into the second Test against an uninspired and Covid-struck Sri Lankan side. It was evident in how, despite the fact that Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne each got hundreds in the first innings, Australia was unable to reach the 400-run mark.

Cummins said, “Unfortunately none of us stayed with Smith long enough to go up to the 400-plus, which meant even if we were out there for 180 overs you were sort of level at the turn. “I believe that was a chance lost. Since history indicates that getting 400 or more puts you in a fairly strong position here, that is how we set up the game on day one.

“The footmarks started to react a little bit more as the game progressed, without a doubt. A brand-new bowling side also occasionally contributes to the outcome. Thus, everything transpired quite rapidly, and regrettably, we were on the wrong side of it.