Guptill thrilled with grafting hundred

Cricket365
January 19, 2018

Black Caps Opener Martin Guptill was happy with his effort in the fifth ODI against Pakistan where his even 100 helped the home side complete a series sweep.

Guptill was named both man of the match and man of the series having hit 310 runs in five innings.

The opener lauded the Pakistan bowling attack who made things difficult for the Black Caps batsmen in each contest.

Speaking after the win in Wellington, Guptill said: “It certainly is [a very good Pakistan bowling attack].

“They made it extremely tough for us to get the run-rate up in the middle of the innings in each game. They found a length that was hard to get away.

“Credit to them for the way they bowled.”

Guptill was pleased with his own efforts as well as those of his fellow batsmen who acquitted themselves well against one of the best ODI attacks in the world.

He added: “They have [been tough wickets] throughout the whole series. There hasn’t been that big 300 score yet, we’ve had to do a lot of hard graft with the bat and it proves that those partnerships we’ve been able to create have actually got us through to some good match-winning totals.

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“I’ve been in reasonable form. It hasn’t been my most fluent work but sometimes you’ve got to score the tough runs and just eke it out a wee bit in the middle.

“I just try to be in good solid positions to hit from. I haven’t had a high boundary count, I’ve been able to get off strike and create partnerships and that’s been able to get us through and get some match-winning contributions.”

New Zealand take on Pakistan in the first of three T20Is on Monday January 22.