KEY POINTS:
Daniel Vettori reckons his 10-wicket match bag is proof that belly-aching about your lack of bowling does pay off.
The New Zealand spinner broke something of a drought on home soil yesterday when he took seven for 130 in the Sri Lankan second innings; only the second occasion in which he's snared seven wickets and the third time he's taken a match-haul of 10.
The success came only days after Vettori made an impassioned plea for more bowling in home tests, having been required to wheel down just two overs in last week's series opener at Christchurch's Jade Stadium.
"It just goes to show that whingeing does pay off," Vettori said last night. "Certainly, I had thoughts of a five-wicket bag, but to finish the tail off so comprehensively was a little bit of a surprise and it was great to end up with seven."
The haul was Vettori's best on home soil since the 1999-2000 test against Australia, when he took match figures of 12 for 149, and his first bag of five wickets or more since he took five for 106 against the same opposition early last year.
An optimistic Vettori said yesterday that, despite New Zealand's unenviable situation, there was enough time remaining for his side to break the world record for a final innings run-chase, and snatch an unlikely win.
"It's not a hard total in terms of the run-rate," he said. "The difficulties are the wickets in hand."
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody last night hailed the performance of middle-order batsman Chamara Silva, whose unbeaten 156 enabled the tourists to build a lead on New Zealand in excess of 500.
Moody said he was always determined that Silva would bounce back from his pair on debut at Christchurch as long as he was given a reasonable chance to prove his worth.
"We still had the confidence in him, and the belief that his form was still there. It wasn't as if it had just vanished."
The Sri Lankan coach said comparisons with former Sri Lankan batting great Aravinda de Silva were well-founded.
"And it's more than just his stance. The likeness to me is that Aravinda had beautifully soft hands and, from what we've seen so far, so has Chamara."
Moody described the right-hander as an understated individual who wasn't into displays of extravagance.
"If you were to walk into the dressing room right now you wouldn't know he's just peeled off 150 not out," he said.
"He's a quiet achiever and he's done himself and his country proud today."
