NEW DELHI: Steve Smith says he's far more comfortable sporting the black eye strips for the day-night Ashes Test at the Gabba - now that he's realised he had been wearing them upside down.

Typically seen on footballers under stadium lights, the strips are part of Smith's meticulous preparation for tackling the pink ball under shifting conditions against England's bowlers.

Australia enter the Gabba Test with momentum after an eight-wicket win in the Perth opener, a match that wrapped up inside two days as Ben Stokes' England squandered multiple promising positions while persisting with their all-out attacking Bazball approach.

Smith expects England to continue with their trademark ultra-aggressive style, and says Australia will stick to their own, more pragmatic approach - one grounded in reading conditions and adapting accordingly.

That mindset is also behind his new on-field look, inspired by former West Indies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Smith trialled the eye strips at training earlier in the week, sparking plenty of chatter across the cricket world.

"I actually messaged Shivnarine Chanderpaul and asked him what his thoughts were, whether he wore the chalk or the strips. He said the strips, and he thinks it blocks out 65% of the glare," Smith said on Wednesday at the captain's news conference on the eve of the second Test. "He also said I've seen photos and you're wearing them the wrong way.'

"So yesterday I put them on the right way and ... I agree. It certainly stops the glare and yeah, I'll be wearing them."

The Australians have been forced into at least one change after Usman Khawaja was ruled out of the second test because of back problems that curtailed his participation in Perth last week, with most pundits predicting a return for Josh Inglish in the middle order and Travis Head opening the innings again after being the star of the first test.

Smith said Australia would delay finalizing a starting XI until after a proper look at the pitch, then had to deal with speculation about injured skipper Pat Cummins being rushed back into the lineup from outside the match squad. He fielded multiple questions without giving a definitive answer.

The Australians have an excellent record in day-night Test matches, with the only one blemish. That was an upset eight-run loss to West Indies in January of last year at the Gabba, a ground where the Australians have been otherwise close to unbeatable for decades.

England hasn't won an Ashes Test at the Gabba since 1986, and hasn't won a Test on Australian soil since the 2010-11 series.

Stokes has vowed to maintain England's "blueprint" for attacking approach, which was heavily criticized in Perth. Asked to describe Australia's way, he kept it simple.

"Adapting to conditions and what's in front of us - playing the game in real time," he said. "That's one thing this team's done really well for a period of time, been able to sum up the conditions, play what's in front in live time.

"And I think if you do that in Test cricket, it holds you in pretty good stead."

(With AP Inputs)