Allrounder Anderson had not reached 25 in his past six innings so he was due.
His methods are invariably assertive and although he lived dangerously at times - twice at 15 and 62 he could have been caught at slip, but both would have been screamers - his approach was spot on.
"We thought 219 was a pretty good target," Anderson said. "But the wicket held a lot, it had a tennis ball bounce and it was difficult to get your timing.
"It's a strange wicket. It still does have carry but does hold and when you start getting wickets that do that, or stay low, that's when you start playing into sub-continental hands."
And therein lies a small concern for New Zealand. The word is likely to go back to Hagley Oval ground officials: More pace please, before the World Cup opener against the same opponents on February 14.
"I thought the way Mahela played was unbelievable," Anderson said of Sri Lanka's century maker Mahela Jayawardene.
In the same way New Zealand would have been in a large hole but for Anderson, Sri Lanka only put up a workable total courtesy of the veteran's 18th ODI ton.
"He showed the tempo you needed to play on that wicket. It was a brilliant effort," Anderson said.
New Zealand were never in danger of a twitchy chase for the win, courtesy of McCullum's early assault.
The effect was New Zealand simply had to make sure they got the runs, without having to fret over ball versus runs equations.
Sri Lanka scratched around themselves early on. Tillekaratne Dilshan's last ODI, on December 16, produced a century against England in Colombo.
But he fiddled about 42 balls over 19, Kumar Sangakkara missed out again but Jayawardene was superb.
New Zealand's bowlers generally impressed.
Trent Boult was better than his figures suggest; Adam Milne's opening five-over spell produced two for 12; Nathan McCullum was tidy while Mitchell McClenaghan, after shipping 15 runs in his first two-over spell, then took four for 21 in eight overs.
Three came in one over as Sri Lanka stumbled late on, partly down to fine catches from wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, leaping spectacularly to his left, and Anderson, running and diving at deep mid wicket.
At 101 for five, things were wobbly for New Zealand, after offspinner Sachithra Senanayake - back after serving a suspension and straightening his arm - and swing bowler Nuwan Kulasekara caused problems.
Grant Elliott's return to international cricket lasted six undistinguished balls before he left a gap the size of a footpath to a ball which swung in and bowled him.
However Anderson, playing some thunderous shots, found support initially from Ronchi (17) and then Nathan McCullum (25no) with a steady contribution.
The second game in the seven-match series is at Seddon Park in Hamilton next Thursday.
These teams will be heartily sick of the sight of each other by then.
Reining in the instinct to hit it for six
Corey Anderson knows he has to battle public expectations after his world record century at the start of last year.
The lefthander's blazing 36-ball century against the West Indies on New Year's Day in Queenstown is, in a nice way, a bit of a burden for Anderson.
He helped New Zealand to victory at Hagley Oval yesterday with 81 from 96 balls, and was pleased to have gone about his business in a more measured way.
"When you have an innings like I did last year you tend to think you've got to play that out all the time," the 24-year-old said.
"That's what people expect. It's about taking your ego out of it.
"Brendon [McCullum] said he suffered from it a little bit when he did it at the Indian Premier League opening [158 not out for the Kolkata Knight Riders off 73 balls in 2008, in the first match of the league].
"It's nice to have guys around me who have been through it. So to play a more mature innings, and when it was needed, is pleasing."
Anderson hits a crunching ball and admitted he sometimes has to rein himself in, for the good of the team.
"I guess I've got something a lot of guys don't have where I can go from ball one," Anderson said.
"You have to pull that in, look at what the scoreboard is saying, look at what the guys have done.
"There are moments when I think I'd love to go down the ground and hit it for six, but your mate at the other end helps.
"I probably looked like I was getting tired or wanting to go for it, and the beauty of having a consistent side is everyone is starting to know when things might be going a little pear-shaped."
His ODI average is up to 39.85 and he sounded a warning to opposing teams yesterday. He can deliver hammer blows with the best but is also learning to be choosy and pick his moments.
Anderson also bowled the death overs for New Zealand yesterday, finishing with one for 61 off his 10 overs.
He believes several bowlers will get their chance during the series.
"It's a month out from the World Cup," he said, "and the more times we can be put in those pressure situations the better."
