KEY POINTS:
Kumar Sangakkara must be quivering in his boots as he awaits Stephen Fleming's next pronouncement on his character.
Accused by Fleming of being selfish after the controversial run-out drama in Christchurch, Sangakkara yesterday provided the perfect response with 156 on the opening day of the second test, his
second century in succession against New Zealand.
If it wasn't for his high-class salvage operation, Sri Lanka would have probably fallen well short of their eventual first innings total of 268, given only three of their batsmen were able to make it into double-figures.
In reply, New Zealand staggered to stumps last night at 66 for four, having lost Craig Cumming for 13, Jamie How to his fourth successive lbw decision, the embarrassed Fleming for a duck, and Nathan Astle to a Lasith Malinga full-toss.
Mathew Sinclair was unbeaten overnight on 6.
It wasn't quite the last laugh from Sangakkara - that opportunity might come later in the test - but it was still an emphatic statement about his class and temperament, not to mention his ability to rub egg in the face of his detractors.
On a day in which the New Zealand attack was taking wickets despite his performance, the little left-hander reigned supreme, handling the home team's pacemen with apparent ease.
Rather than being attacked with aggression and intensity, as Fleming had promised, Sangakkara instead turned the tables on New Zealand, peppering the boundary hoardings with 21 direct hits and sending one hook over backward square-leg for six.
His driving through the off-side, whether on the front or back foot, was Gower-like; his square cutting and hooking were unequivocal and his ability to accumulate runs when not smashing boundaries was a constant frustration for New Zealand.
When Sangakkara brought up his century with an exquisite sweep for four off spinner Daniel Vettori, he'd scored 101 runs in a total of 162 for 4 and had also become the sixth Sri Lankan to post more than 5000 career runs.
He is now averaging a startling 81.79 in 27 innings as a specialist batsman, as opposed to 41.24 in 79 innings played as wicket-keeper.
Curiously, the only decent support he received was from the 26-year-old Chamara Silva, who struck a belligerent 61 off 83 balls.
The pair added 121 for the fifth wicket, Silva justifying the faith shown by his selectors with some cracking shots, including a gorgeous cover drive off the back foot to bring up his half-century and a congratulatory hug from his partner.
However, from the moment Silva was caught at slip off James Franklin when the score was 202, the innings went into a steep decline and it wasn't long until Sangakkara was forced to hit out in the search for quick runs. It wasn't a memorable day for the New Zealand bowlers, who might have expected to make better use of the pitch during the first session.
Shane Bond struggled for consistency, Franklin searched for his rhythm, Jacob Oram was forced out with a hamstring strain and Daniel Vettori was a mixture, despite landing three wickets.
The best of the crop by far was Chris Martin, who beat the bat regularly throughout the day and was rewarded with the first three wickets to fall, those of Sanath Jayasuriya, Upal Tharanga and skipper Suriya Jayawardene.
Sangakkara said afterwards he wasn't bothered by Fleming's verbal broadside and that the New Zealand skipper was entitled to his opinion.
"He has been around for quite a long time as New Zealand captain and I think whatever he says or does in these situations usually has a little plan or reason behind it.
"So, I work on ensuring that I pay attention to the things I can control, and forget the rest."
SCOREBOARD
(Basin Reserve)
Stumps, first day
SRI LANKA
First innings
U. Tharanga c McCullum b Martin 7
S. Jayasuriya c Fleming b Martin 0
K. Sangakkara not out 156
M. Jayawardene b Martin 0
C. Kapugedera c Sinclair b Oram 5
C. Silva c Fleming b Franklin 61
P. Jayawardene lbw b Vettori 25
C. Vaas c McCullum b Bond 0
F. Maharoof c McCullum b Vettori 4
L. Malinga c Sinclair b Vettori 0
M. Muralitharan c and b Bond 0
Extras (1b, 1lb, 8nb) 10
Total (65 overs) 268
Fall: 1/0, 2/27, 3/41, 4/81, 5/202, 6/239, 7/240, 8/251, 9/259, 268.
Bowling: Bond 16-1-85-2 (3nb), Martin 13-2-50-3 (1nb), J. Franklin 12-2-46-1 (4nb), Oram 3-0-10-1, Vettori 14-1-53-3, Astle 7-2-22-0.
NEW ZEALAND
First innings
C. Cumming b Maharoof 13
J. How lbw b Malinga 26
M. Sinclair not out 6
S. Fleming c P Jayawardene b Malinga 0
N. Astle b Malinga 17
Extras (3lb, 1w) 4
Total (for 4 wkts, 22.4 overs) 66
Fall: 1/30, 2/40, 3/40, 4/66.
Bowling: Vaas 4-0-8-0, Malinga 9.4-2-37-3, Maharoof 5-2-10-1 (1nb), Muralitharan 4-1-8-0.