Sri Lanka coasted to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand to move level on points with their opponents at the top of the World Cup Super Eight table.

The Kiwis, who began their fourth second-stage match with one of only two 100 per cent records, failed to post a par total, despite Scott Styris' fourth one-day international hundred.

Sri Lanka then sauntered past 219 for seven with almost five overs to spare at Queen's Park, to put themselves alongside New Zealand and Australia in the front rank of the race for a semi-final place.

Even with Styris' unbeaten 111, the Kiwis fell well short of expectations - undermined by three top-order wickets for Chaminda Vaas and three more for Muttiah Muralitharan.

A 65-ball half-century from Sanath Jayasuriya (64) in a 100-run second-wicket stand with Kumar Sangakkara (69 not out) then set Sri Lanka on their way, although the tempo of the victory was short of the net run rate required to take them to the top of the table. New Zealand, meanwhile, missed the chance to equal their best ODI run of ten in succession.

They did not help themselves by putting down a series of half-chances when the ball was still new enough to cash in on early inroads.

Jayasuriya clipped a delivery from Mark Gillespie through Stephen Fleming's outstretched left hand at mid-wicket when he had made 30, and Sangakkara had a similar let-off on nine thanks to Craig McMillan at mid-on from the bowling of Shane Bond.

Sri Lanka lost opener Upul Tharanga to a fine catch by Bond from an upper cut off James Franklin to deep third-man, the fielder backtracking after initially coming in a little too far.

But Jayasuriya and Sangakkara were largely untroubled until the former under-edged a cut behind to Brendon McCullum, standing up to Jacob Oram's medium-pace.

Mahela Jayawardene pulled Daniel Vettori tamely to midwicket to give the slow left-armer his 200th wicket at this level, and Chamara Silva donated another by giving Bond some catching practice at long-off.

But Sangakkara closed out the match with a half-century which took 86 balls and contained just one four, as he milked ones and twos to a largely defensive field.

New Zealand's total owed what substance it had to the hard-working Styris, who came in at four for two in the third over and stayed till the end.

His personal haul was a 152-ball century, brought up with his seventh boundary after Fleming had chosen to bat on a good surface.

The Kiwis were in trouble by the fifth ball of the match when the captain went for a duck, lbw pushing forward defensively to Vaas' full-length swing.

Ross Taylor also made nought, in his first appearance since the group stages of this competition because of a hamstring injury.