Aussies out to make history in Kandy

Australia remain confident of escaping Pallekele Stadium with a 1-0 series lead despite the precarious situation they currently face and the unknown territory that lays ahead.

Remarkably, Australia have never batted last in a Test match in Sri Lanka in what is currently their 14th encounter in the island nation.

The tourists will need to chase a target of at least 197 runs - and likely quite a sum more with four wickets remaining and Kusal Mendis 169 not out – knowing that only once has an Australian Test side successfully chased a greater total on the subcontinent.

Quick single: Masterful Mendis floors Australia

That instance occurred in 2006 against a lowly-ranked Bangladesh side in Fatullah when Ricky Ponting led a powerful batting line-up with an unbeaten 118 to successfully chase 307, sneaking home by just three wickets.

"We'll look to chase down whatever they set us," off-spinner Nathan Lyon told media on the day he claimed his 200th Test wicket.

"It's been proven today that if you have a simple batting plan that there's no demons. You can score runs out there.

"That's one big positive."

Mendis, 21, became the first player in the match to pass 50 and set about bringing up his maiden Test century, soon followed by his highest first-class score.

While the young right-hander plundered Australia’s bowlers for 20 fours and a solitary six – a glorious slog sweep off Lyon to reach three figures – the innings has also inspired belief among the visitors.

Quick single: The Aussie GOAT joins the 200 club

"It's probably got a tad easier to bat," Lyon continued.

"But you've got to give credit where credit is due. For the young fella to get 170, he's batted out of his skin and he's played extremely well.

"We've missed our half chances, it's been a tough day for the Australian bowers.

"The good thing about Test match cricket is we'll bounce back tomorrow and look forward to taking the new ball and hopefully take some early wickets."

Darren Lehmann’s men will also take confidence from Pakistan’s effort in the most recent Test at the venue last year.

It marked the only result from the four Test matches at the Kandy venue prior to this week’s ongoing clash, with Shan Masood (125) and Younis Khan (171no) combining on the fourth and fifth days of the match to steer Pakistan to a memorable seven-wicket victory in pursuit of the target of 377.

Quick single: Kandy sours for tourists on gloomy day

However, the ace up Sri Lanka’s sleeve this time around is the spin threat of Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan – both of whom were missing from last year’s encounter in Kandy.

For Australia, a handful of players will have the team’s most recent Test tour of Asia somewhere in the back of their minds when they eventually commence their pursuit of whatever target is placed in front of them.

The two-Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates a little less than two years ago featured a pair of unsuccessful run chases as spin twins Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah did most of the damage.

A fourth-innings total of 216 in the first Test fell considerably short of the 438-run target, while Australia’s total of 246 in the second match wasn’t even close to Pakistan’s target of 603.

Whether or not Australia can apply the lessons learned from that tour and banish their subcontinental demons presents another fascinating storyline in a contest that has proved far more captivating than anyone would have predicted on Tuesday morning.