SL vs AUS | ‘A couple of new words we are using about our approach is proactive and brave’- Pat Cummins

With the Aussies scalping a commendable win against Sri Lanka on the Galle soil, Pat Cummins believes that his side has been brave and proactive in these terms. In the ongoing two-match Test series between Sri Lanka and Australia, the hosts were crushed by the Aussies in just two-and-a-half days.

Cummins's Proactive & Brave comment is because Australia had scored at 4.53 in 70.5 overs in the first innings, despite being 100 for four at one point. The sixth-wicket partnership between Cameron Green and Alex Carey was a prime example of Australia's batting urgency. They scored 84 runs off 93 balls, significantly advancing Australia's chances on a rain-shortened second day. 

"A couple of new words we're using about our approach is being proactive and brave. We saw some really clear methods from all the batters. They might have been individually a bit different, but you saw everyone being really proactive and putting pressure back on the bowlers. You'd normally talk about it in one-day or T20 cricket. But I think that's the style over here that's needed," Cummins said after the match.

Cummins' side has also gone undefeated in four consecutive Tests in Asia, winning two of those games eight months into his captaincy. Cummins believes that Australia in 2022 will be less concerned about spinning conditions. Even the senior players are being pushed to improve their games.

"Embracing everything about the conditions, that's been a big one for us. In the past, you can get caught up in conditions that aren't like Australia, but if you want to be the number one Test team in the world, you've got to be winning overseas. 

So I think everyone - the experienced guys finding new shots, Mitchell Starc working on the reverse swing, Nathan Lyon coming up with a few new balls. There is so much appetite to learn and be successful on these wickets," the Australian pacer and skipper said.

Lyon was crucial to the victory, taking 5 for 90 in the first innings and 4 for 31 in the second. During this game, he also surpassed three bowling legends in the all-time wickets. With 436 wickets, he is now 10th on the list, just ahead of Rangana Herath, Kapil Dev, and Richard Hadlee. In addition to that, he even bagged his 20th five-wicket haul in the red-ball format.

"I wouldn't change Lyon for anyone. He's gone into the top 10 wicket-takers of all time. And you saw him out there. He's unplayable for left or right-handers. Sometimes out here, bounce for spinners is spoken about as something that's not desirable, but he has shown here with that bounce; and he was unplayable. 

His stamina as well - you give him the ball from one end and say see you at the end of the day," Cummins said. 

With the Aussies leading the series by 1-0, the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia will take place from July 8.