Lasith Malinga takes it all in Colombo …

Lasith Malinga takes it all in Colombo after superb knock from Thilan Samaraweera . New Zealand had given themselves a good shot at victory by the half-way mark, having restricted Sri Lanka to 216 for 7 in their 50 overs. No one expected their chase to be easy given the history under lights at this venue, yet the manner in which they capitulated was embarrassing. A superb opening spell from Nuwan Kulasekara that included two wickets in the fifth over and a devastating three-wicket over from Lasith Malinga left New Zealand in danger of being bowled out for less than their lowest total against Sri Lanka, the dismal 73 in 2007.

Jesse Ryder, after a Man-of-the-Series role in the Twenty20s, was the first to go when he was trapped lbw in the second over by Thilan Thushara, returning after missing the Twenty20s. Seventeen deliveries later, at 5 for 1, Martin Guptill was caught behind the wicket as he drove off the back foot. In the same over Ross Taylor was adjudged lbw for 2 by Asoka de Silva, though he had reason to feel aggrieved. The score was 7 for 3.

Malinga is hardly the man you want to see take the ball when your top order has been blown away, and you need 198 from 38 overs with seven wickets in hand. With his first three overs, consisting of deliveries on all sorts of lengths, Malinga kept the batsmen tied down. The fourth was something out of a shooting gallery. Brendon McCullum had run the risk of being arrested for loitering as he squeezed 14 from 51 balls, dropped on 13 by Kumar Sangakkara, before Malinga rattled his stumps. Two deliveries later Malinga held back his length and drew an edge off Jacob Oram's bat to Sangakkara who held on excruciatingly close to the ground. Oram stood his ground before replays proved he was a goner. With his next ball, Malinga hurled down a corker that went right through Nathan McCullum.

Nearly 11 years after making his one-day debut, Thilan Samaraweera chose a crucial time to score his maiden century, and did so with the temperament and class that confirmed he has turned a corner in his stop-start career. Samaraweera, whose highest ODI score coming into this match was 38 not out, teamed up with Angelo Mathews and from the depths of 69 for 5 in the 26th over, averted a meek surrender with a 127-run association from 134 balls.

The pair combined exceptional running between the wickets with some fireworks to help Sri Lanka reach a total that looked remote when they began. New Zealand will still back themselves to chase this under lights, but going into the break, the momentum had definitely swung away.

Then Samaraweera - a late inclusion in the squad - and Mathews got together for the brightest phase of the innings. They almost immediately began to build some momentum, unfazed by the nature of the track and energetically hunting for scoring possibilities. A boundaryless streak, lasting 143 deliveries, was soon snapped. Mathews played his most fluent innings in recent memory. He timed the ball well from the start, getting off the mark with a straight drive off Vettori, and then placed the ball far more deftly than he had in the Twenty20s. Between overs 33 and 38 the pair added 35, running hard between the wickets and taking runs off Ian Butler, prompting Daniel Vettori to call back Tuffey. Samaraweera, who had reached his half-century off 78 balls, cleanly lofted and paddled boundaries to get the small crowd cheering.