Prabath Jayasuriya was made to work hard for his wickets in the first Test. Even when he ended up with figures of 4 for 136 in the first innings there, they had at one point been ingloriously perched at 1 for 99. Second time out he got his customary Galle five-for, and that was down to a better showing from his spin colleagues at the other end, who offered much more control than they had in the first innings.
But Sri Lanka, acknowledging that Jayasuriya needed more consistent support, made the bold call of replacing the sometimes-wayward Ramesh Mendis, with debutant Nishan Peiris. And on day three of the second Test, Peiris proved that he is a more-than-able foil to Jayasuriya's sustained excellence.
Thirteen New Zealand wickets fell on day three, with Jayasuriya responsible for six of them - five in the first innings, one in the second - while Peiris grabbed six himself. Only Dhananjaya de Silva could separate the pair with his solitary scalp.
"When you bowl with him it is very easy," Jayasuriya said of his younger team-mate at the end of the day's play. "I didn't feel he was on debut. He bowled with lot of confidence and he showed his potential in Test match cricket."
The old adage 'bowlers work in pairs' is true in most cases, but on tracks such as Galle, where despite the turn on offer, the first and most important quality for any player - batter or bowler - is patience. Applying pressure from both ends is vital.
For New Zealand this meant that during a suffocating morning, replete with oppressing heat, there was little to no respite. While Jayasuriya peppered on nagging lines and lengths at one end, Peiris used the cross-breeze to great effect, getting the ball to drift, dip and turn away sharply from the left-handers in particular.
This afforded him a variety of wickets, most notably of Rachin Ravindra, whom he bagged in both innings. The first was a ball that drifted in full, past Ravindra's attempted sweep, to bowl him around his legs. Then in the second, he got one to grip and turn sharply off a good length as Ravindra could do nothing but watch as the ball zipped past his back-foot defence to clatter into the stumps.
"He gave me lot of support," added Jayasuriya. "One bowler usually has to do the holding job, while the other attacks.
"In the first innings he kept one end tight, and in the second he was the one that got the wickets. I guess we did our roles right, we'll have to wait and see how the day turns out tomorrow."
Looking ahead to day four, despite Sri Lanka's hefty advantage, Jayasuriya isn't taking anything for granted. He's aware that New Zealand's batters are better than what they showcased in the first innings, where they were bowled out for 88.
"They were on the field for 600 runs and perhaps they were a bit tired. But I think they are a good side. Their top order has some experienced players, but they tried to defend too much [in the first innings]. We were able to dominate then, but in the second innings their approach was more attacking.
"[But] I like if they are attacking. Yes, you will give away a few runs, but you also have a chance of taking wickets.
"We cannot take things lightly. What we do in the first hour will be crucial. We just need to bowl good deliveries. They were attacking us towards the end of the day, so need to get the plans right and execute things as well."