Both sides had points to prove when they began a series of five one-day internationals in New Zealand at the end of January. Since a rare one-day peak, when they won the ICC Knockout Trophy in October, the New Zealanders had been mauled 5–0 in South Africa and, worse still, pipped 1–2 on home soil by Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka had also just finished a tour of South Africa, in which they were outplayed in the Test and one-day series. It was Sri Lanka who enjoyed the turnaround. Sanath Jayasuriya struck what was probably the decisive blow of the series when he won the toss and batted first at Napier, on a pitch he correctly judged would help the slow bowlers later. His star off-spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan, swept through the closing stages, taking five for 30. The New Zealand players seemed shattered, and some shrill radio commentators, who should have known better, revived the notion that Muralitharan's action was suspect. Safe in the knowledge that it had been exhaustively checked and cleared by the International Cricket Council, Jayasuriya probably sensed New Zealand were at his mercy. He himself secured a winning 3–0 lead with a neutron bomb of a century at Auckland. To their credit, the New Zealanders fought back, and might have won the fourth match at Hamilton, where their own captain, Stephen Fleming, rediscovered his form. But bad light and Duckworth/Lewis worked in Sri Lanka's favour just as their challenge was faltering. The home side finally pulled one back in the last match, where they scored 282 on a typical batsman's pitch at Christchurch. The Sri Lankans were gracious winners, and their victories at Napier and Auckland suggested their one-day form was regaining its old edge. Jayasuriya still looked a master, and while he was the only player on either side to reach 200 runs, both Russel Arnold and Marvan Atapattu averaged over 56 each. Kumar Sangakkara showed great promise as a wicket-keeper/batsman. The return of Muralitharan and the tall pace bowler, Nuwan Zoysa, to fitness paid dividends – ten and eight cheap wickets respectively. They were among four Sri Lankan bowlers who conceded four runs or less per over during the series; for New Zealand, only the experienced Chris Harris, with 4.01, and Daniel Vettori, 4.27, came close – while the unfortunate Andrew Penn, who bowled eight wides in four overs at Napier, averaged 7.25. The statistics highlighted the home team's major problem – the inability of their bowlers to develop a tight, economical attack.

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