As he turned at the top of his mark to deliver the fourth ball of his 13th over, Trent Boult had claimed just six wickets in his last 826 deliveries in test cricket.
15 balls later, he had six more.
In what was statistically the greatest test spell produced by a New Zealand bowler, Boult's brilliance early on day two caused a complete capitulation for Sri Lanka, and put the Black Caps stunningly in command of the second test.
By the time the day had ended, the Black Caps could claim it as one of their most dominant days of test cricket. Jeet Raval had struck 74, Tom Latham was unbeaten on the same score, Kane Williamson hit 48 and the Black Caps were sitting at 231-2, a lead of 305 runs.
It was a position possible because of Boult's brilliance. The lethal left-armer changed the entire outlook of the test in the space of a phenomenal 15 balls. His six wickets in that spell was the fastest accumulation of six wickets in test history, tied with West Indian Jermaine Lawson, while no player had claimed five wickets in 11 balls in test cricket before Boult accomplished the feat.
[Frustration to first-ever: How Trent Boult made history for Black Caps against Sri Lanka]
At 94-4 in response to the Black Caps' first innings of 178, Sri Lanka looked likely to at least come close to a first innings lead, before Boult broke their innings, and their spirit.
