KEY POINTS:
Tom Moody was right after all.
The Sri Lankan coach last week railed against suggestions his rookie batsman Chamara Silva should be dropped from the test team, insisting the right-hander had the goods to bounce back from his pair on debut at Christchurch.
Yesterday the much-maligned Silva lived up to the prediction, coming off the ropes to stroke a majestic unbeaten 152 and leave New Zealand on the brink of an ignominious defeat in the second test at the Basin Reserve.
The 35th player to make a pair on debut, Silva yesterday became the first player in test history to respond with a century in his next match; in the process pushing his side's second innings total through to 365 - a lead of 503.
In reply, New Zealand were 75 for two at stumps, having lost Jamie How lbw to a knee-high Lasith Malinga full-toss (How's fifth consecutive lbw) when the total was 56, and Craig Cumming to a Muttiah Muralitharan wrong-'un four runs later.
The hosts will start this morning needing a further 429 to win, with Mathew Sinclair unbeaten on 10 and Stephen Fleming on 4, and with Malinga and Muralitharan looming as the biggest threat to their survival.
For all that, Sri Lanka's position of dominance was created chiefly by Silva's command of the New Zealand bowlers, and his eagerness to attack the second new ball and work in combination with his partners.
Resuming at 225 for five, Sri Lanka were initially well served by Silva and Prasanna Jayawardene, who added 94 for the sixth wicket, and then by Silva and Chaminda Vaas, who put on a rapid-fire 88 for the seventh.
Silva's style was easy on the eye; full of flair, aggression and his trade-mark punch-drives off the back-foot, not to mention the hook-pull - which was in frequent use against the often short-pitched New Zealand bowling.
Having been jettisoned by national selectors after being first noticed in 1999, the 27-year-old yesterday ensured he would remain in their favour for a while to come - and boosted his stocks ahead of the one-day series.
Showing no discomfort against the second new ball, he brought up his century off 145 balls and needed just 69 more to post his 150, at which point he received rapturous applause from the Sri Lankan balcony.
His pair on debut had given him the same start to his career as luminaries such as Graham Gooch, Saeed Anwar and compatriot Marvan Atapattu. Atapattu began with three consecutive ducks, a score of 1, and then another pair.
Silva's task was possibly helped by the fact that most of the New Zealand pacemen appeared to be struggling for rhythm and timing, and were unable to reach their usual rate of knots; making batting seem easier than it was.
Shane Bond was dramatically down on pace and it would be no surprise to learn he has a niggle; Chris Martin was full of enthusiasm but couldn't find the consistency of last week, and James Franklin was running hot and cold.
With Jacob Oram unable to play any part at the bowling crease because of a hamstring strain, it was just as well for New Zealand that Daniel Vettori was able to take up the slack.
He secured the second seven-wicket bag of his career and his third match haul of 10 wickets.
TWENTY20 SQUAD
For matches against Sri Lanka in Wellington on Friday and Auckland on Boxing Day:
Stephen Fleming (c), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, James Marshall, Brendon McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Jeetan Patel, Ross Taylor.
* Bond will not play in Auckland. Michael Mason will take his place.
