Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan was pleased to have made the most of his new role as opener after smashing the seventh fastest half-century in Test cricket on day one of the first Test against New Zealand in Galle.

Opening the innings for the first time in his Test career, Dilshan blazed 92 off just 72 deliveries to help the home side recover from the shock of early wickets.

Fast bowler Chris Martin had given the visitors a bright start by claiming two quick wickets to leave Sri Lanka in a spot of bother at 16 for two, but Dilshan helped the home side recover quickly with a belligerent knock.

He reached his half-century off just 30 deliveries and is tied seventh with India's Kapil Dev on the list of fastest half-centuries in terms of deliveries faced.

Dilshan put on 118 for the third wicket with Mahela Jayawardene, the latter going on to make an unbeaten 108 as Sri Lanka reached a commanding 293 for three at stumps.

"I enjoyed opening the innings," Dilshan said. "In the last five or six years I've batted at number six, but now that I've got the opportunity to open the innings, I wanted to make it count.

"There isn't a lot of pressure opening the innings and I hope to go on and do more in this role in the next few years."

Dilshan said his task at the start was to put the pressure back on the New Zealand bowlers and felt it was key to Sri Lanka's revival.

"It was a little difficult at the start and we lost two quick wickets," he said.

"But I wanted to play my natural game and I knew if I did that, the pressure would be right back on the Kiwis.

"If you get defensive on this pitch the bowlers get on top of you so my aim was to play my shots and take my chances.

"I succeeded and the bowlers were under pressure and they began to try different things and ended up making mistakes.

"I think my approach was right and it was key to the good total we ended up with at the end of the day."

On blazing the seventh fastest half-century, Dilshan said: "I didn't know I had achieved that mark, but I saw the list of quickest half-centuries when I got out.

"There are some great names on that list and it's nice to be ranked alongside them."