It was a day that started in carnage thanks to gale-force winds and finished with some on-field carnage from a rollicking Pat Cummins in IPL mode.
But those wildly different scenes were the frenetic bookends to the calm of Cameron Green as he made the day Australia's with a cool and measured innings that gave the tourists a solid advantage in Galle.
Green and Alex Carey added 84 runs in a sixth-wicket partnership that steadied Australia just when Sri Lanka appeared to be circling, having removed Travis Head (6) and Usman Khawaja (71) within the first hour of play.
That there was any play at all seemed miraculous after wild weather battered the coastal city and washed out the morning session.
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Severe winds toppled a temporary stand and forced radio broadcasters to relocate from their rooftop perch but the storm eventually passed and an efficient clean-up meant Khawaja and Head were back in the middle for the afternoon session under sunny skies.
There was little respite for the batters, though, playing on a ragging pitch that Khawaja later described as the most difficult he had experienced.
Just after play resumed, Head became the first batter to fall victim to the generous turn, trying to work a full delivery from Dhananjaya de Silva through midwicket only to squirt a leading edge back towards the bowler, who took a terrific catch diving to his right.
That was the catalyst for Green to enter the fray and continue the exponential learning curve the allrounder has been on since he debuted for Australia barely 18 months ago.
How good were these two? 🤩
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) June 30, 2022
Our lead stands at 101 after two days of play and we've still got a couple of wickets in hand. Massive day today and an even bigger one coming up tomorrow. C'mon Aussies! #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/Gd8AGBus73
Green is a giant (literally) cricketing sponge, soaking up information, processing and regurgitating it in the form of impressive performances that belie his inexperience.
After finding form with both ball and bat in the more familiar Australian conditions during last summer's Ashes and learning the art of reverse swing and patient batting in Pakistan, Green proved to be adept at playing spin on a pitch that left little room for error.
Whether pressing forward with the sweep, playing late, powerfully driving or dancing down the pitch with a lightness incongruous with his large frame, Green displayed the confidence of a player already very much at home in the Test arena.
The Sri Lankan spinners didn't help their own cause: as on the previous day, there were far too many loose deliveries upon which Green and Khawaja gleefully capitalised, Lasith Emuldeniya, Remish Mendis and the debutant Jeffrey Vandersay all suffering periods of punishment.
Khawaja was in charge, offering advice to his less experienced partner, until he became the first victim of debutante Vandersay's Test career.
The legspinner did for the left-hander with a delivery that turned in and caught the inside edge of the bat as Khawaja pressed forward, although it took a sharp effort from Puthum Nissanka at short leg to clutch the ball in his fingertips.
From there, Green took on the mantle of confident and mature senior partner to Carey, who was proactive and busy as he swept and reverse swept at a sprightly rate.
The pair ate up the run deficit at a hungry pace but Carey, five runs short of a half-century, perhaps got a little greedy.
Deviating from the sweeps that had served him so well, he was tempted to come down the ground when Dimuth Karunaratne brought mid-off up for Mendis, who tossed up the ball invitingly.
Carey obliged with a heave that could have fallen safely but for the brilliant work of Dinesh Chandimal, sprinting towards the boundary and snaffling the ball over his shoulder.
Green was on strike for the following ball and unfurled an imperious swipe through the covers for four; as much an emphatic statement as it was a powerful shot.
Cameron Green and Alex Carey push Australia's lead past hundred.
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) June 30, 2022
Ramesh Mendis 4/107, Jeffrey Vandersay 2/68.#SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/CKSkaFtdKC
Even his mishits were Meidas: when he mistimed a sweep off Mendis, getting through the shot too early, Green inexplicably struck the ball with the back of his bat on the follow through and deflected it to the deep third boundary.
It was the sort of ludicrous shot to suggest this would indeed be Green's day, but a maiden century continued to elude him when Mendis trapped him lbw, leaving him with a fifth Test half-century to his name.
But there's no reason to doubt the milestone will come, such is the obvious growth in confidence on display in every Green appearance.
Cummins' late flurry included three towering sixes as he batted with Nathan Lyon for the final overs before bad light ended play with Australia 8 for 313 and a first-innings lead of 101 runs.
That Cummins and Lyon could make hay in the fading light was a testament to the toil of Khawaja, Carey and, most of all, the ever-improving Green; just imagine how powerful a weapon he might be once he adds experience to his extravagant skills.
