Having arrived in Sri Lanka with much optimism, Australia was dealt a major reality check when it lost the first Test by 106 runs.
Resuming day five needing 185 to win at the Pallekele Stadium with seven wickets in hand, the world champions were desperately hoping bad light or rain - both of which had impacted on this match - would return as they stumbled to 8-161 approaching tea.
Veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandikan, of the left-arm wrist variety, had been the chief tormentors but they were made to work hard as Peter Nevill and the injured Steve O'Keefe, batting with strained hamstring which was to force him home, grimly fought on. 
Dark clouds had hovered for much of the day, as the tourists hoped this would save them after squandering the advantage they had enjoyed on day one when the hosts were dismissed for 117.
Skipper Steve Smith had shaped as the potential match-winner on Saturday when he posted his 17th Test half-century but his dismissal on the cusp of lunch, deceived by a skidding delivery from Herath, had appeared to be the match-turning moment.
It certainly curtailed Australia's thoughts of possible chasing for victory.
They may be ranked number one in the world, but the Australians have much work to do in this three-Test series, which resumes in the coastal city of Galle on Thursday, if they are to avoid adding to their recent poor record on the sub-continent.
The hosts began the day believing the budding partnership between Adam Voges and Smith loomed as their biggest threat. They were able to nullify this not long after play had started 45 minutes late because of the threat of rain.
The manner of Voges' dismissal, when he jammed a ball back to Herath, surprised himself, and surely most of the Sri Lankans, who had barely appealed the diving catch, thinking it had been a bump ball.
Even the veteran spinner had appealed to umpire Richard Kettleborough in hushed, almost apologetic tones, rather than as a man who believed he had made a crucial incision.
Kettleborough then sought the counsel of his fellow umpire, and opted to review the call. Replays would show the ball had flown off the bottom of Voges' angled bat and had not touched the ground.
Herath was given one more over before Sri Lankan captain Angelo Matthews then made the odd decision to remove his key weapon - a man who thrives on long spells.
Sandakan loomed as a difficult proposition, and he had a strong leg side field to attack the Australian skipper. Only three men were on the off-side - at slip, mid-off, and a deep point. This was done in order to seek a catch on the leg side from his stock ball, and even to tempt Smith into charging at Sandakan's wrong-un, in the hope he would mistime an inside edge.
Smith continued to attack with his feet, following through on his pre-match declaration to try and subdue the spinners early in his innings.
Batting coach Stuart Law had called on Mitch Marsh to play his natural game, much as he did in the first innings with a composed 31 before he misread Sandakan's wrong-un. He began well, straight driving Herath for four. While his power game can be seen as a weakness, it will generate plenty of runs - regardless of the conditions.
Marsh and Smith appeared at ease against the off-spin of Dilruwan Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva, prompting Matthews to recall Herath after Smith had notched his half-century off 160 balls, with the one boundary.
Herath, the only Test cricketer still in action who made his debut in the 1990s, immediately rediscovered his tight line.
Herath would eventually provide the match-turning breakthrough a flat delivery skidded on and beat Smith's bat. This time there was no doubt and although Australia hung in for another half-hour the tourists were eventually all out when Stephen O'Keeffe was the last man out bowled by Rangana Heratah.
From the darkness - Sport 10


SCOREBOARD
SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS: 117
AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS: 203
SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS: 353
AUSTRALIA: 2nd innings              R M B 4s 6s
J Burns b Sandakan                    29 62 57 2 1
D Warner b Herath                     1     5 4 0 0
U Khawaja lbw D Perera             18 23 22 3 0
S Smith lbw Herath                    55 150 125 1 0
A Voges c & b Herath                  12 55 47 1 0
M Marsh lbw Herath                    25 46 37 3 0
P Nevill c Chandimal b de Silva     9 - 115 1 0
M Starc c & b Sandakan               0 3 3 0 0
N Lyon lbw b Sandakan               8 36 16 1 0
S O'Keefe b Herath                      4 - 98 1 0
J Hazlewood not out                    0 - 1 0 0
Sundries                                     0
TOTAL                                        161
FALL: 2 (Warner), 33 (Khawaja), 63 (Burns), 96 (Voges), 139 (Marsh), 140 (Smith), 141 (Starc), 157 (Lyon).
BOWLING: N Pradeep 6-3-16-0, R Herath 33.3-16-54-5, D Perera 13-3-30-1, L Sandakan 25-8-49-3, D de Silva 11-7-12-1. OVERS: 88.3.