First ODI: Five things you need to know

Australia are finally on the board in Sri Lanka with a relieving victory in the opening one-day international of the five-match series at Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium.

The tourists were in control of the tricky run chase from the outset, despite what the final three-wicket margin might suggest as Steve Smith's men overcame the home side's spin brigade on a raging one-day turner.

Quick Single: Australia strike first in opening ODI

Aaron Finch used brute force to fuel the pursuit of Sri Lanka's 8-227 and earned the 'Smart Player of the Match' award, which turns out isn't actually the official 'Player of the Match' award.

That title actually went to 'Hero of the Match' James Faulkner following his superb return to form with the ball earlier in the afternoon.

In fact, the 'Hero of the Match' is just another name for ‘Player of the Match'. What a system!

Anyway, many things happened across the eight hours of action at the sell-out in Colombo, but these are the five take-aways you need to know.

Starc's super starts

Mitchell Starc is so fast these days that he doesn't even have time for looseners. The pace ace has made a habit of striking regularly throughout the Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka; particularly with the new Kookaburra in hand.

In nine innings spanning the three Tests, the pre-series tour match and now the first ODI, Starc has made a breakthrough in the opening over on five occasions.

Yesterday's effort to skittle Kusal Perera was as destructive as it was inevitable, and took Starc within reach of the 100-wicket milestone in ODI cricket.

The record-breaking moment arrived a couple of hours later when a clever change-up from Starc resulted in a simple catch for George Bailey and Saqlain Mushtaq's record as the fastest man to 100 ODI scalps now belonged to Australia's spearhead.

"It's a fantastic achievement from him," Finch said after the win. "He has been the best in the world for a number of years now.

Quick Single: Super Starc sets new world record

"When he gets it right, there's absolutely no-one better around.

"It's a lot more fun (playing with him) than facing him, I can tell you."

Game-changer Faulkner

On the eve of the series in Colombo, Faulkner outlined the key areas he'd been working on in an attempt to recapture the form that saw his name etched in history as the Player of the Match (the proper award) in a World Cup final.

The strong showing on Sunday would suggest he is well on the way as the left-arm seamer finished with a career-best haul of 4-38 from his allotted 10 overs.

It was the first time since that memorable March day at the MCG last year that Faulkner had claimed more than a pair of wickets in an ODI.

At 2-124, the Tasmanian was thrown the ball for the 30th over after Dinesh Chandimal and Australia's Test nemesis Kusal Mendis had set about building the platform for the planned late-innings launch on a typically steamy Colombo afternoon.

Faulkner got one to grip and Travis Head claimed the sitter on offer from Mendis to bring Sri Lanka's skipper out to the middle amid a boisterous reception from the excited home crowd.

With his cutters reacting dramatically upon impact with the remarkably dry surface, Faulkner left Mathews with plenty to think about as the second delivery he faced exploded off the deck and brought a cloud of dust along with it through to the gloves of 'keeper Matthew Wade.

Two balls later and Mathews was the next to go, with Head cranking up the degree of difficulty to hold on to a stunning catch diving across from backward point.

The scorebook showed a double-wicket maiden and Faulkner was back in business.

Chandimal's purple patch

Fresh off a brilliant century in the third and final Test last week, Chandimal continued to create headaches for Smith and the Australian bowlers on his way to an unbeaten 80.

The latest performance was Chandimal's fifth consecutive half-century in the 50-over format following a winless England series in which the 26-year-old posted scores of 37, 52, 62, 63 and 53.

Quick Single: Chandimal on verge of Sri Lankan record

It was a fighting performance from the wicketkeeper-batsman as he shook off a nasty blow to the ribs from a rearing Moises Henriques delivery shortly after bringing up ODI half-century No.20.

That physical stress was only tested further due to Chandimal's inability to source easy runs with just three boundaries to his name while collecting a whopping 50 singles as wickets fell around him.

Kusal Perera was forced to take the gloves in the evening as Chandimal was sent for an X-ray to assess the damage, with the hosts desperate for their middle-order rock to have avoided any serious harm ahead of Wednesday's return bout back at Premadasa.

Finch hitting

On a pitch he would later describe as a "pretty poor wicket all round", power-hitter Finch was in no mood for sticking around to see just how much turn was possible on a one-day surface.

Three balls into the chase and the Victorian shifted forward to launch Mathews back down the ground and over the rope as if he was just another net bowler only 24 hours earlier.

Finch took a particular liking to the medium pace of Mathews and Thisara Perera in accounting for 29 of the 40-run opening stand with Warner and then raced along to his half-century from just 37 balls with the side at 1-66.

The entertaining display that had yielded seven fours and two over the boundary was ultimately brought undone by an umpire's review for a catch that left both Finch and fans watching along at home just a little confused.

"I didn't get any feedback from the umpires so I'm not exactly sure what was happening," Finch revealed in his post-match press conference.

"I hit the ground at the same time so it's always pretty hard to tell.

"You've got to hit them in the middle I guess."

The costliest drop

Finch was left with nowhere to hide when the sun interfered with his effort to catch Mendis in the deep when Sri Lanka's new batting star was on 14.

However, it paled in significance to Mathews' botched attempt when his captaincy counterpart was only just building his innings on 15.

The difficult chance went begging when an outside edge deflected of 'keeper Kusal and his skipper was unable make it stick.

Smith went on to make a vital 58 as he calmly paced the Australian innings to within reach of their first success over the hosts on a tour that has now ticked over six weeks.

It capped off a challenging evening for Mathews; the man who was the toast of the town just a few nights ago following the shock three-nil Test sweep.