The Black Caps are making the most of a fully fit squad and are shaping up as worthy challengers at the Twenty20 World Cup, writes Andrew Alderson.
A fully fit side and an abridged cricketing format already have New Zealand looking like genuine contenders at the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
It follows yesterday's two-wicket victory chasing 136 to beat Sri Lanka in their first group match, after warm-up wins over Ireland and the West Indies.
The balance of the side looked sound in Guyana as they defeated their Group B opponents for a third straight time in Twenty20 matches. Sri Lanka have now lost six of their last seven internationals in that form of the game, belying their No 2 seeding at this tournament.
Jesse Ryder top scored with 42 from 27 balls, combining for a 62-run second-wicket stand with Martin Guptill. Both were bowled trying to be too cute in the 'reverse V' when they could've played through the line but the partnership set a solid platform.
Importantly, the incoming batsmen never forgot the value of accumulating singles, even when scrapping together a series of mediocre partnerships. Guptill, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram and Nathan McCullum all contributed scores in the teens.
However, two of those innings were better than others. Oram brought the Black Caps back from the brink in the 17th over at 96 for 5 when Styris departed trying to dispatch a ball into the Amazon rainforest. That meant they needed 40 runs to win off 22 balls.
Oram cannoned sixes off his second and third balls, facing Ajantha Mendis.
The first would've gone close to disrupting the members sitting down to their lunch of jerk chicken on the second tier of the stand. The second - a one-handed waft - cleared Chamara Kapugedera by a fingernail at long-on.
Then it was Nathan McCullum's turn, swinging his forearms like a modern-day Popeye to hit a winning six off the penultimate ball.
Unlikely Sri Lankan villain Lasith Malinga had 10 runs to play with at the start of the final over but McCullum was equal to the task. He also squeaked a boundary off the second ball - an attempted yorker - by executing a shot which bisected the fine and long legs.
It paints a healthy picture for New Zealand when they can afford to leave out a fit-again Kyle Mills. The side is clearly benefitting from the competition that blooms when not burdened by injury.
Surprisingly, Shane Bond probably had the least impact of all the bowlers. His two wickets for 35 were a by-product of a couple of soft last-over dismissals when McCullum picked up two of his three outfield catches.
It again underlined how pace doesn't have the same impact as accurate slow bowling on West Indies wickets where batsmen are forced to make their shoulders and wrists do extra work.
McCullum opened the bowling and it was a classic case of empowerment for a player who has waited some time to take more responsibility at a higher level.
He says he wasn't intimidated against a line-up boasting names such as Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratane Dilshan.
"I've come up against a few batsmen like that lately such as [West Indies captain] Chris Gayle in the warm-up game," he said.
"It's daunting but it's something I enjoy."
McCullum received superb back-up from Dan Vettori, the master bowler for such circumstances, as well as Styris, Oram and Tim Southee, who worked in tight bowling partnerships.
While opener Mahela Jayawardene's 81 was his best score in the format, Sanath Jayasuriya was bizarrely relegated to No 7 in the order.
Captain Vettori said restricting Sri Lanka to 135 was the backbone to the win.
"We've got a team that can cope with all conditions and a decent-sized ground enabled us to bowl with more confidence," he said.
"It was also a better wicket than the warm-up games. Batsmen were able to play more shots down the ground. We made it more difficult than I would have liked, though. Jesse and Martin did well but we weren't aggressive enough in the middle stages."
Provided New Zealand can get past a resurgent Zimbabwe, who had warm-up wins over Australia and Pakistan, the tournament is wide open from here.