In a lot of ways, it's been nice to have a subcontinent tour: Daniel Vettori

The Aussies have been performing with great aplomb in subcontinent conditions and will be keeping an eye on the bigger picture - the Border-Gavaskar trophy and the World Test Championship.

They currently lead the WTC table with 84 points, 24 points ahead of second-placed South Africa. The biggest challenge they will face during the campaign will be playing India away from home next year. But what makes things different this time is the team's recent performances in Asia.

A series win that had eluded them for over a decade finally came to pass as they beat Pakistan on their home turf earlier this year. They won the final test match of the three-match series to win it 1-0. This was their first overseas win since 2016 and first in Asia since 2011. 

The Australians were welcomed with flat battings tracks which they thrived on. The first two test matches had 400+ scores in the first and second innings, justifying the conditions. 

Bowlers found it extremely tough as there wasn't much to exploit from the pitch. During the final test match in the Gaddafi Stadium, Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins took it upon themselves to conquer a historic series win. Khawaja was named player of the series and the latter player of the match.    

When they came to Sri Lanka, the Aussies knew what to expect - square turners and dust bowls. They didn't want a repetition of 2016, where Australia were humiliated by a clean whitewash.

In that series against the Lankan lions, Australia only scored more than 200 twice in the three-match test series. On the other hand, the hosts put up 250+ scores four times from six innings.

But this time in Galle, we saw a resurgent Australian side. They came out with positive intent and won the test match by ten wickets. 

Khawaja and Cameron Green played impressive roles with the bat, whereas Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson and Travis Head spun webs around the opposition. Another win or draw will secure a second straight series win for Australia in Asia.

The attacking mindset and their ability to execute the sweep shot have helped the hosts this season. 

"In a lot of ways, sweeps can be blocks over here. There have been plans for individuals to use whatever they feel comfortable with and to be as proactive and brave as they could with it," Vettori said, talking to the media.

"The guys who do sweep very well tried to emphasize that as much as possible. Alex Carey, I think his first 12 scoring shots were sweeps".

 A high percentage of the boundaries they scored were from sweep shots, proving it to be one of the most productive shots on spinning pitches. 

Chris Silverwood, head coach of Sri Lanka, also agreed when he pointed out that his batters need to be better at sweeping in these conditions.

But the biggest challenge awaits next February as they face India in the Border-Gavaskar trophy that consists of four Test matches. This will be a series with massive importance as it is the last series to be played before the World Test Championship.

It will be challenging for the visitors as they haven't won in India since 2004. However, if they manage to secure a series win there, it would mark just the third time in the team's history they have won three straight series in Asia. 

The Australian coaches have set their eyes on this series and will want to be well prepared before facing last year's WTC finalists.

"In a lot of ways, it's been nice to have a subcontinent tour of Pakistan, then here [in Sri Lanka] and build towards India," assistant coach Daniel Vettori said. 

"Conditions will be very different. We will get a lot of variation from venue to venue.

"You could get anything in between [the pitches in Pakistan and Sri Lanka]. If you play at Mohali, it is going to be flat, and if you play at Wankhede [in Mumbai], it could turn square like here. You can't just have one plan".  

These words indicate that the Aussies are already looking forward to their biggest challenge this season. Moreover, it adds more hype for the Test series and the World Test Championship next year.