Chanderpaul faced 147 balls for his unbeaten knock of 69

Captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul made a vital half century as West Indies survived a mid-innings collapse to be 271-6 after day one in Colombo.

Sri Lanka made light of losing the toss to reduce the tourists to 113-5 in the 31st over of the first Test.

But Chanderpaul, leading a side missing most first team regulars, gritted his teeth to hit a valiant 69 not out.

Denesh Ramdin hit a free-scoring 56 on debut and another man playing his first Test, Runako Morton, made 43.

Muttiah Muralitharan, playing his first Test in nearly a year after two shoulder operations, bowled 29 overs, but had just one success, when Morton was bowled for 43.

The tourists opted to bat first after winning the toss but lost their third debutant Xavier Marshall for 10, trapped lbw by Chaminda Vaas.

The last of the four debutants on show, Sri Lanka's Gayan Wijekoon then dismissed Sylvester Joseph, also lbw, for 28.

The West Indies side was virtually unrecognisable with 10 players, including Brian Lara, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, left at home because of a contracts dispute.

This was the first day of five... We just need to hang in there and fight hard Tom Moody Sri Lanka coach

They were expected to provide limited opposition to the hosts, and that prophecy looked fair when Morton, Narsingh Deonarine and Dwayne Smith fell in the space of four overs.

But Chanderpaul put on 79 with teenage wicket-keeper Ramdin (56) and an unbeaten 79 in the final session with Omari Banks.

Wijekoon and Lasith Malinga each ended the day with two wickets.

"To me this is a fair performance considering the experience, or lack of it, they have," said West Indies coach Bennett King.

"It was great to see the batsmen put their heads down. I think others were more surprised by the performance. I was not surprised at all. There is lot of talent out there."

Opposite number Tom Moody, in charge of Sri Lanka for the first time, admitted they had shown signs of rustiness after a lengthy break from international cricket.

"Test cricket can change very quickly. This was the first day of five. We just need to hang in there and fight hard," he commented.

Sri Lanka: M S Atapattu (Capt), S T Jayasuriya, D P M D Jayawardene, K C Sangakkara (Wkt), T T Samaraweera, T M Dilshan, M G R Wijekoon, W P U J C Vaas, H M R K B Herath, M Muralitharan, S L Malinga.

West Indies: S Chanderpaul (Capt), D Ramdin (Wkt), D B Powell, O A C Banks, R S Morton, X M Marshall, S C Joseph, N Deonarine, D R Smith, T L Best, J J C Lawson.