Opener Malinda Warnapura helped Sri Lanka consolidate after a shaky start by scoring a half-century on a rain-truncated first day of the first Test against India at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan picked up an early wicket apiece as Sri Lanka lurched to 2-85 after rain had washed out the opening two sessions.
Warnapura was still there on 50 and Mahela Jayawardene on 16 when bad light forced the umpires to call off play for the day.
Talk before the match was about the new referrals system being used for the first time.
But the only difficult decision umpires Mark Benson and Billy Doctrove had to make was when to take the field with the outfield sodden by showers overnight and on Wednesday morning.
Jayawardene won the toss and chose to bat, but when the innings finally got under way after tea, the decision could have backfired had it not been for Warnapura.
The left-hander, playing in only his sixth Test match, was calmness and confidence personified as he weathered a strong opening spell from Zaheer.
Zaheer, back in the team following an ankle injury, turned in a menacing spell of nine overs, in which he generated swing and beat the bat on several occasions.
It was Ishant, though, who struck first - removing Michael Vandort for three runs as the left-handed batsman edged a delivery to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.
Just as Sri Lanka was beginning to settle, it lost Kumar Sangakkara to the dangerous Zaheer.
Sri Lanka's vice-captain had just spanked the left-arm fast-medium bowler for a couple of boundaries, the second of which had brought up the 50 partnership, when he got his bat to a delivery which straightened only for an edge to fly to Rahul Dravid at first slip.
Dravid neatly pouched a low catch to his left to dispatch Sangakkara for 12.
India skipper Anil Kumble had brought on Sourav Ganguly as his first change bowler but, rather than pile pressure on the batsmen, the former captain's medium pacers only helped them thrive as he struggled to hit the right areas.
Jayawardene looked in pristine form, driving well through the covers for a couple of boundaries in his stint at the crease.
Warnapura remained steady, content to put away the bad delivery.
He added an unbroken 28 runs for the third wicket along with Jayawardene, but it was the Indians who walked off winners of the brief session.
Sri Lanka 1st Innings
Vandort c Karthik b Sharma 3
Warnapura not out 50
Sangakkara c Dravid b Khan 12
cJayawardene not out 16
Extras 4 (lb 1, nb 3)
Total 85 (2 wickets; 22 overs)
FoW: 1-7, 2-57
Still to bat: Samaraweera, Dilshan, Jayawardene, Vaas, Kulasekara, Mendis, Muralitharan
Bowling
Khan 9-0-42-1 (3nb)
Sharma 7-2-21-1
Ganguly 5-1-14-0
Singh 1-0-7-0