Australia skipper Smith urges teammates to have 'courage & faith' in Colombo

Having already lost the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, Australia captain Steve Smith has called on his beleaguered teammates to have 'courage and faith' to play on a wicket which is expected to be another raging turner in Colombo.

Smith observed that his side's batsmen need to play with a positive and assertive mindset in order to be successful in all conditions around the world.

"In Australia, you don't get balls that are turning like they are here and skidding on, everything's pretty consistent. So it's finding a way I guess and getting outside your comfort zone," Smith was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"First-innings runs are crucial wherever you play. So being proactive in our thinking, finding a way to get off strike and put the bowler under pressure. We saw at times in the second innings [in Galle] when we got a few away, they [Sri Lanka] put the fielders out and the longer you spend out there the easier it gets," Smith continued.

"It might be about sweeping or coming down the wicket or getting deep in your crease. Sometimes it's easy to do in the nets and when you get out in the middle there are guys around the bat, there's the pressure of the game, it's a whole different ball game.

"It's just having the courage and faith to sometimes take a risk you may not take in Australia and different ways of thinking to get around different situations."

After defeating Smith's side convincingly in Pallekele and Galle, Sri Lanka can claim a historic whitewash against a top-ranked side if they beat Australia in the third match in Colombo, starting on Saturday.

Hosts skipper Angelo Mathews, meanwhile, has said that they wouldn't go easy on their rivals despite taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and predicted the wicket at the Sinhalese Sports Club to be a 'spinner's paradise'.