Debutant Jackson Bird was one of three wicket-takers for Australia early on day one of the second Test against Sri Lanka as the tourists reached 3-79 at lunch at the MCG.

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss on a pitch with a tinge of grass and the home side’s bowlers extracted plenty of bounce and sideways movement in a lively first session in front of an estimated crowd of more than 50,000.

Kumar Sangakkara is 43 not out after receiving a standing ovation from the crowd in the last over before lunch for becoming the 11th player to reach the milestone of 10,000 Test runs.

The left-hander pushed a glorious off-drive to the boundary to move to 10,003 runs in 195 innings, equal to the mark set by West Indies’ Brian Lara and India’s Sachin Tendulkar.

Thilan Samaraweera is unbeaten on 10.

Bird struck in the fourth over of the match when Dimuth Karunaratne lunged forward and was caught behind for five.

Left-armer Mitchell Johnson shared the new ball with Bird and Johnson leapt in the air in delight after bowling Tillakaratne Dilshan for 11 at 2-19.

The 36-year-old Dilshan had adopted his usual aggressive style despite the need for caution in the first hour of a Test match. Dilshan hit boundaries through gully and mid-on in a risky display of shot-making before another attempted on-drive led to his downfall.

Home-town hero Peter Siddle achieved a massive breakthrough with the third delivery after drinks as Jayawardene was caught behind for three at 3-37.

With Sri Lanka’s hopes of a 300-plus total resting largely on Sangakkara’s shoulders, the 115-Test veteran played some stylish strokes in the final overs before lunch with Johnson conceding 44 runs from nine overs.

Australia named skipper Michael Clarke to play despite suffering a hamstring injury in last week’s first Test in Hobart.

Bird, 26, became Australia’s 431st Test player. Former skipper Bill Lawry presented the Tasmanian pace bowler with his baggy green cap in an on-field ceremony 20 minutes before play.

Johnson and Bird replaced Ben Hilfenhaus (side strain) and Mitchell Starc (rested) in Australia’s pace-bowling lineup after the home side’s 137-run win in last week’s first Test in Hobart.