Important for us to finish the tour well: Lehmann

Darren Lehmann, the Australian coach, is in no mood to take the second Twenty20 International (T20I) versus Sri Lanka lightly after Glenn Maxwell's brilliant 65-ball 145 helped the visitors take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. It was the visitors' first win in their last five T20I encounters against the Asian side.

"Obviously we had a very good performance the other day, spectacular batting, I thought we bowled well, but when it is a two-match series, you have to win both of them," said Lehmann, on the eve of the final T20I in Colombo on Thursday (September 8). "It is important for us to finish the tour well."

The pitch at the Pallekele International Stadium was a belter, producing over 400 runs with Maxwell doing most of the damage. It was the best batting wicket in the series so far, which the South Australian acknowledged. "Pleased with the way we played the other night. It was a fantastic wicket and I must give the curator real credit. It was an unbelievable wicket, one of the best I have seen. Hopefully it is the same here (Colombo)," he said.

The five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and the first T20I saw different Australian units as opposed to the Test team which got blown away 3-0 by Sri Lanka. The addition of shorter format specialists seemed to have worked wonders for the morale of the side, and results followed.

"We thought the squad we selected for the Test series was right; on form and previous matches we played. Obviously, we didn't play as we would have liked, some of the guys struggled with the conditions, that is understandable. It happens sometimes," Lehmann opined.

However, the Australian coach heaped praise on the incoming players who performed to their potential and exceeded expectations in the ODI series. George Bailey was the backbone of the batting order in the one-day series, while James Faulkner and Adam Zampa provided variety with the ball.

"The one-day guys have come in and performed well for us. That's impressive. That's all you can do when you are looking into another tour to India in February, the whole squad and what you can take there," he added.

Australia have a busy home summer, in which they host South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan. With such a tight schedule and a few spots up for grabs in the Test side, we might see a different side in India to what was named for the Sri Lanka tour.

"They (one-day specialists) have played really well. It has been exceptional. That's all you can do, put your name in the line with the way you play in the one-day format. We have certainly done that before, with George Bailey, where he played particularly well in India and got picked for the home Ashes. All performances for Australia count," Lehmann admitted.

Before moving on to the next assignment, Australia have few selection headaches for the second T20I. With Bailey returning home, Lehmann has been left with limited options to choose from.

"We have only got twelve fit as Finch is not available and George (Bailey) has gone home. So, Wade will play and for the bowling attack, we will have to look at the wicket and sum it up. One change definitely."

Lehmann also quashed any suggestions that Warner was a better captain than Smith, saying, "Steven Smith and David Warner are very aggressive players and captains. There's no difference. We didn't play well enough in the Test series. We got beaten by a better side. We have to get better at playing under these conditions."