Taylor has feet on ground after beating India

Captain is leading a young side without Vettori and McCullum, who felt they were not getting enough respect from the opposition or the media.

New Zealand, who arrived in Sri Lanka without Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum, their two biggest stars, felt they were not getting enough respect from the opposition or the media. The Kiwis changed that with a massive 200-run win over India in their opening game of the tri-series on Tuesday and now they lock horns with Sri Lanka today, looking for a similar showing, with an eye on next year's World Cup.

"We were missing McCullum and Vettori and perhaps we didn't have the same respect from the opposition and the media," Scott Styris, one of the stars of New Zealand's win over India, said. "We have got some talented players, and really wanted to go out there and show people that we are still a good team. We are trying to be a lot more professional in the way we do things. "Performance manager Roger Mortimer has worked with a lot of Olympic athletes in New Zealand. He is trying to use that experience to improve our training system. We are trying to take notes in our preparation for the World Cup next year."

The win in the first game ensures New Zealand will not be taken lightly any longer, certainly not by India who, after the defeat, cancelled a three-day "comfort leave" for the players to travel back home. Ross Taylor, who is leading the Black Caps in the absence of Vettori, has, however, warned his side to keep their feet firmly on the floor after their big win. "I don't want to get carried away," he said. "It was one victory and the team played well. Sri Lanka are difficult in their home conditions and we have to come out with the same attitude and the same intent in the next game."

New Zealand were fortunate to win the toss on Tuesday. In Dambulla, the team winning the toss in a day-night match have always gone on to win. In 20 of those 21 games, the team chose to bat first. Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, will be hoping the spin of the coin will fall in his favour this time. He has a better pace attack than India at his disposal and if the conditions favour the bowlers again, it should make for an exciting contest.

With Lasith Malinga, Chamara Kapugedara and Nuwan Kulasekara likely to share the new ball for Sri Lanka, the New Zealand batsmen look to have a tough task ahead of them. Taylor did well with a classy 95 in the opening game, but they will also need runs from Martin Guptill and Jacob Oram if they hope to win their second game of the series. India, meanwhile, have flown in Munaf Patel, the pace bowler, to bolster their squad after the crushing defeat in the first match. "Munaf Patel is joining the Indian team in Sri Lanka, as an additional member of the squad," N Srinivasan, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said in a media release yesterday.

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