Sri Lanka ripped through New Zealand's top order when play finally got underway in the rain-ravaged second and final cricket Test in Kandy on Sunday.

Left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas grabbed two wickets and new ball partner Prabath Nissanka one as the Kiwis slumped to 11 for 3 after electing to take first strike when the match started after tea on the second day.

But the brief spell of play lasted only 34 overs as bad light drove the players off the Asgiriya stadium and dark clouds overhead threatened to curtail play further over the next three days.

There was, however, enough time for Mark Richardson and Scott Styris to launch a rescue act as the Kiwis closed the day at 75 for 4.

The pair defied the ball that skidded low after pitching to add 60 valuable runs for the fourth wicket.

Styris hit five boundaries in an aggressive 32 before he was unlucky to be given out caught at silly point off Muttiah Muralitharan. Television replays showed the ball miss the bat.

Left-handed opener Richardson saw off the day with 32 not out, while Jacob Oram had yet to score.

The entire first day's play was lost yesterday while a slushy outfield caused by heavy seasonal rains wiped away the first two sessions of the second day.

But there was plenty of excitement for home fans when play began.

Vaas struck with the first ball of his second over when he had Matthew Horne edging a low catch to wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, who returned unconquered with a career-best 274 and 69 in the drawn first Test in Colombo last week, failed to score when he was trapped leg-before by Nissanka in the next over.

Mathew Sinclair padded up to a swinging delivery from Vaas and was declared leg-before as the Kiwis found their batting strength decimated by the seventh over.

Styris and Richardson dug in to deny Sri Lanka further success till Styris' unfortunate dismissal just before close.

The sun shone brightly since morning and even though the wicket and the square were dry, wet patches in the outfield forced umpires Daryl Harper and Simon Taufel to delay the start.

During May, the rains usually hit Kandy late in the afternoons after a sunny start to the day. The clouds were slowly building even as play began.

The first Test at the Tamil Union ground in Colombo ended in a high-scoring draw last Tuesday as the bat dominated the ball on an easy-paced wicket that held no terror for the batsmen.

Both sides retained the same team for the decisive Test of the short two-match series.

This is not the first time the Asgiriya stadium has seen cricket drastically hit by bad weather.

During India's Test match here in 1993, only 45 minutes play was possible on the first day before the rest of the match was rained off.

Scoreboard

New Zealand (1st innings):

M Richardson batting 32

M Horne c Kaluwitharana b Vaas 1

S Fleming lbw Nissanka 0

M Sinclair lbw Vaas 3

S Styris c Tillakaratne b Muralitharan 32

J Oram batting 0

Extras (b-2, lb-2, nb-3) 7

Total (for 4 wickets, 34 overs) 75

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-7, 3-11, 4-71

Bowling: Vaas 10-5-19-2, Nissanka 7-2-16-1, Muralitharan 9-2-18-1, Jayasuriya 3-0-7-0, Dharmasena 4-1-11-0, Lokuarachchi 1-1-0-0.