McCullum's detour, Vettori's stride

It has been said that in the DRS age, large strides are no longer a defence against being given out lbw. But if you've got limbs as long as Daniel Vettori's, a big step down the pitch can still save you. Jeevan Mendis straightened a legbreak on middle stump to hit Vettori well below the knee roll in the 33rd over, before umpire Ian Gould turned down the appeal. Sri Lanka opted to review it, and were hopeful when the projection suggested the ball would hit the middle stump, then indignant when told the decision would remain not out. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were chief among those seeking clarification, and their mood was not improved when Gould told them the decision could not be overturned because the point of impact had been more than three meters from the stumps.

Mahela Jayawardene had been in the same silken touch he had displayed in Christchurch as he breezed to 27 from his first 28 balls, but like on many other occasions in his career, he fell trying to be too cute. He had already threaded one through the gap between keeper and a very wide slip, but when he attempted to do so again, off Matt Henry in the 32nd over, he was surprised by a little extra bounce, and ended up deflecting the ball directly into Ross Taylor's bucket hands, at around fourth slip.

The Seddon Park pitch was a dream for batsmen, who played some exceptional shots throughout the match, but from a feast of glorious shots down the ground, Dimuth Karunaratne's straight drive was perhaps the pick. Henry delivered a length ball just outside off stump in the second over, and instead of coming forward, Karunaratne slid bat and punched the ball firmly past the bowler, and his excellent timing sent the ball screaming to the fence for four.

Sri Lanka fluffed a straightforward chance to run out Brendon McCullum for 104, but it was McCullum's own actions in the incident that drew more attention than Sri Lanka's ineptitude. McCullum tore away for a single when Ross Taylor had hit the ball to short fine leg, but though Taylor initially seemed interested, he turned back to his own crease with McCullum over halfway to the other end. What McCullum did next caused a stir. Instead of turning on the spot and running the same line he had run, McCullum ran across the pitch and over to the side from where the throw would be coming in. That manoeuvre forced the fielder to throw slightly wider of the stumps than he would have liked. Though this prompted suggestions that McCullum had obstructed the field, he could not have been given out anyway, as Sri Lanka had not appealed.