The Black Caps have plenty of work to do after day one of the second test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
A wicket in the first over was an aberration for New Zealand at Galle International Stadium on Thursday as the hosts reached 306-3 at stumps, after captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and elected to bat.
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He may have been rethinking that decision when Tim Southee got opener Pathum Nissanka to edge one to Tom Blundell with the sixth ball of the innings, but he needn't have worried.
Dimuth Karunaratne (46 runs from 109 balls, including four fours) and Dinesh Chandimal (116 from 208, including 11 fours) put on 122 runs for the second wicket before Glenn Phillips and Tom Latham combined to run-out Karunaratne.
Another big partnership followed, with Chandimal and Angelo Mathews (78 not out from 166, including six fours) tacked on another 97 runs.
Phillips added the big scalp of Chandimal, turning the ball past his bat as the Sri Lankan came down the wicket looking to play a big shot to the leg side.
However, with first test centurymaker Kamindu Mendis (51 not out from 56, including eight fours and a six) joining Mathews in the middle, the pair added 85 runs before stumps, with the Black Caps unable to make a breakthrough even with Southee and Will O'Rourke back into the attack with the new ball.
Southee has figures of 1-54 from 12 overs and Phillips an economical 1-33 from 16, while Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner combined to bowl 47 of the 90 overs, without reward.
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