WATCH: David Warner's brilliant presence of mind sends Karunaratne packing

Australian opener David Warner showcased his brilliant sense of game awareness on the opening day of the ongoing Galle Test against hosts Sri Lanka, paving the way for the dismissal of Dimuth Karunaratne.

It all happened during the 30th over of Sri Lanka's innings when Nathan Lyon and the entire Aussie outfit went up in unison for a potential leg-before-wicket appeal after Karunaratne lunged forward to a full-length delivery.

But, as everyone was busy appealing, Warner had his eye on the ball, which had lobbed up to the vacant gully region by then, and the southpaw proceeded to make a full-length dive to his left to claim a stunning catch.

The replays confirmed that Karunaratne had got an inside edge on his pads.

Watch: David Warner's sensational grab here:

It was one of Warner's three catches during Sri Lanka's innings. The veteran opener followed it up with grabs of former Lankan spinners Angelo Mathews (at leg-slip) and Dinesh Chandimal (at second-slip).

Karunaratne's dismissal came at the wrong time for Sri Lanka. He and Mathews looked set for a significant partnership after the home side lost Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis cheaply.

His dismissal triggered another mini-collapse as Mitchell Swepson removed Dhananjaya de Silva and Dinesh Chandmial within two deliveries to leave the Lankans reeling at 5-98.

Niroshan Dickwella counterpunched against Lyon and Swepson and swept his way to a 59-ball 58, but Sri Lanka lost wickets at the other end.

Mathews fell to Lyon after doing all the hard work as he edged the off-spinner straight to Warner at leg-slip. 

Dickwella and Ramesh Mendis added 54 runs for the 7th wicket, but Lyon, en route to his 20th five-for, and Swepson wiped out the remaining wickets to bowl the hosts out for 212.

Australian openers, especially David Warner, came out all guns blazing against the Lankan spinners. At the time of writing, Ramesh Mendis had provided his side with a vital breakthrough in the form of the swashbuckling southpaw.