Steven Smith leans down the wicket to a Steve OKeefe ball drifting towards leg stump. Australias captain closes the face to whip through the leg side but does so too early, drawing an edge in the direction of slip. It is three days before the start of the first Test against Sri Lanka.As OKeefe celebrates his little victory in the Pallekele nets, Smith chides himself tersely. Thats shit batting, he blurts. Later, he runs past a Nathan Lyon delivery angled across him from round the wicket, and later still cops a blow to the inner thigh from a Mitchell Marsh effort ball that pops off the surface.These moments are apt showings of Australias vulnerability in subcontinental conditions; moments they must avoid to win this series, and next years in India. Smith has preached adaptability since he was formally appointed captain after the loss of the Ashes in England last year. Now he and his team face the first real test of their resolve to do so. Save for a series win over lowly Bangladesh in 2006, Australia have won one of 15 Asian Tests since 2004.Wed like to turn that around, Smith said in Pallekele. I think weve won one game out of our last 15 in the subcontinent. Its about making sure you have a plan from ball one as soon as you get out there and each individual is different. Ive seen a lot of the guys practicing the sweep shot, guys coming down the wicket, batting deep in the crease and things like that. Its about making sure youre doing it from ball one and not waiting until youre 15 or 20, because you can make a mistake before that.So its about doing it from ball one and making sure you have that plan and youre doing it the whole time. I think thats how you have to play in the subcontinent. You have to take different parts of the game, different tempos of the game along with you as well. Therell be times when they want to attack and you might get more scoring options and times when they want to be a bit more defensive. You have to be patient with that at the same time. The guys know what to expect, weve trained really hard being here the past two weeks and were ready to go.It cannot be said that the Australians are underprepared. They have been in Sri Lanka for two weeks, with some players adding further to their acclimatisation by spending time in Chennai beforehand. They have played two tour matches, an internal trial and a comprehensive win over a Sri Lankan invitational side. They have been actively assisted by the advice of Muttiah Muralitharan, to the evident chagrin of the hosts. They have a squad tailored to the conditions, with OKeefe offering a style of bowling not dissimilar to that of Rangana Herath. And they are playing the first Test of the series at Pallekele, which will offer a more equable surface than the spinning top expected in Galle. All bodes well.I think he has always improved, each year hes played he has improved, Smith said of OKeefe. Looking back to the UAE tour [against Pakistan in 2014], we bowled first on both of those occasions and were behind the game quite often. Its always a different game when you get in front of the game and theres a bit of pressure on the batters to score runs and play with guys around the bat and those kinds of things.I guess we never really got in that kind of position so we never saw that side of Stephen. But I think he has progressed really well. Hes probably bowling as well as Ive seen him bowl. In the tour match he bowled beautifully. He bowled the same ball and some skidded on and some spun. Quite similar to Rangana Herath, the way he bowls in these conditions. So if he gets an opportunity, Im sure hell do well. Another important role player will be Marsh, the allrounder who has made a promising start to his Test career without making the runs expected of a No. 6 batsman. Smith is hoping his top order can dig in for the long, substantial innings that can allow Marsh to give free rein to his expansive hitting power later on. Equally, he is looking forward to using Marshs lively fast medium for impactful spells of the kind seen in the recent triangular series final against the West Indies in Barbados last month.Hes a big strong lad and he plays best when hes looking to hit the ball, Smith said. He gets himself in a little bit of trouble, as weve seen in one-day cricket, when he sort of just noodles them around. When he looks to hit the ball and he gets the man at long-off back and hit down the ground for one and have that intent to score, hes been pretty successful. So theres no reason why he cant do the same in Test cricket.There is a second variable to Australias fortunes over the next three Test matches, that of Sri Lankas transitional team. While the conditions will pose challenges for Smiths men, he is also conscious of making sure the visitors assert themselves at the right times. As the worlds No. 1 Test team, they have the capacity to dominate at times, provided they are the right ones.They are in a bit of a transition, as are we in a way, Smith said. Weve had a lot of retirements recently as well. Theyve lost a lot of runs in Mahela and Kumar, they were incredibly experienced players. Angelo [Mathews] is probably the only one now who has played over 50 Tests in their top six. Theyve got a pretty inexperienced line-up and well try to get on top of that as much as we can.As for Smiths own batting, there is something to his style that appears suited to these conditions, as he showed with a series of useful scores on Australias ignoble 2013 tour of India. By match eve he had ironed out those earlier kinks and misjudgments, nailing his drives, cuts and defensive dead bats with far greater surety than a couple days before.I enjoy playing cricket in the subcontinent its always a great challenge, Smith said. The ball generally does something quite regularly in the game, whether its reverse swing or spin. Its a great challenge to try and bat for long periods and get big scores. I havent got a hundred [here] yet so it would be nice to tick that off - this week would be good. Its going to be a tough series but were all looking forward to it, and hopefully I can have some success along the way. Supply NFL Jerseys . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Cheap NFL Jerseys Shop . 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INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George and Myles Turner were determined to end Indianas recent woes against Charlotte.George and Turner scored 22 points each to lead the Pacers to a 110-94 win over the Hornets on Monday night, snapping Indianas four-game losing streak against Charlotte in the regular season.We knew this team has kicked us in the past, four or five times, so we wanted to come out here and send a message, Turner said. We were so connected in the first quarter on defense and it just carried over to the rest of the game.Jeff Teague had 16 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, and Rodney Stuckey added 14 points for the Pacers, who have won two straight since returning home from a five-game road trip.Marco Belinelli scored 14 points for the Hornets, Marvin Williams and Nicolas Batum each had 13 and Kemba Walker added 12.C.J. Miles made the go ahead 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining in the third quarter to start an 11-1 run by the Pacers. It gave Indiana a 76-73 lead and Stuckeys two free throws with 8:56 to play put the Pacers ahead 84-74.The Hornets had a short spurt in the fourth as Frank Kaminsky made a 3-pointer and Jeremy Lamb scored on a fast break layup to make it 87-82 with 7:03 left. But Turners 3 with 1:12 put the Pacers ahead 103-92 to seal it for Indiana.At the start of the game, George appeared to pick up from where he left off on Saturday when he scored 37 points in the Pacers 118-111 win over Portland. He started the game with a 3-pointer and a flashy, turnaround jumper, but never went off to help Indiana pull away until the fourth quarter when he scored three times, including a basket to give the Pacers a nine-point lead.Mostly it was a game of runs.Turner and Glenn Robinson III made back-to-back 3s in the first quarter to help Indiana get off to a good start. Later Turner hit another 3-pointer and Thaddeus Young scored on a layup to put the Pacers ahead 20-10 with 3:20 to go in the fiirst before the Hornets went on a 9-0 run to get back within a point.ddddddddddddWhen youre down, you have to stick to the game plan and keep playing, Batum said. You cant give up. We did it a couple of times. We almost got the lead and when we get the lead we just have to keep it.The Pacers went on another lead in the second quarter and the Hornets closed out the half on an 8-1 run to trail 45-43 at halftime.TIP-INSHornets: Charlotte shot just 30.8 percent in the first half and trailed by only two points, 45-43. ... The Hornets finished shooting 33.3 percent from the field.Pacers: George and Turner each had five rebounds. . Stuckey left the game in the fourth quarter with a left knee contusion . G Monta Ellis was out with a sore groin.A HOMECOMING OF SORTSHornets center Cody Zeller, who attended Indiana University and is a native of the Hoosier state, received a warm welcome from fans during pregame introductions. The welcome wasnt quite the same for Roy Hibbert when he checked into the game late in the first quarter. Hibbert, who played for the Pacers for seven seasons from 2008-15, was met with scattered boos when he entered the lineup. The jeers were noticeably louder when he first got the ball, though his hook-shot in the middle of a 9-0 run in the first quarter quieted fans.FIRST QUARTER SPARKHibbert actually created a bit of a spark off the bench in the first quarter. He set a screen twice for Belinelli that cleared him for open baskets, including one he was fouled on before he completed the and-one. Then Hibbert made back-to-back shots, including one to get the Hornets within a point.UP NEXTHornets: At Washington on Wednesday night for their third game of a five-game road trip.Pacers: At Miami on Wednesday night, where they have lost three straight regular season games. ' ' '