Bully Black Caps make it five out of five
New Zealand had little trouble overcoming Afghanistan in Napier on Sunday, with the bowlers ensuring a small target that the batsmen chased down with six wickets in hand.
Daniel Vettori's four wickets and Trent Boult's three saw Afghanistan all out for 186 despite two half tons. The Kiwis then needed just 36.1 overs to knock off the runs, with Martin Guptill making 57.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat, looking to prevent a massive score and maybe see if their bowlers could have something to defend later on. It didn’t help that they lost both openers for just one run.
Boult bagged Javed Ahmadi and Asghar Stanikzai for single figures, while Vettori skittled Usman Ghani, Mohammad Nabi and Afsar Zazai. Nawroz Mangal was able to add 27 before also succumbing to the spinner.
The only bright spots were half centuries from Samiullah Shenwari and Najibullah Zadran. The first's 54 came off a Test-pace 110 balls, while Najibullah's was a more brisk 56 off 56. The pair struck the only sixes off the innings, a grand total of three.
Once Corey Anderson took the final wicket of Hamid Hassan, it left the Kiwis in little doubt of the result. Keeping in mind they nearly failed to chase 150-odd against the Aussies, they would have been extra careful this time against a good attack.
Brendon McCullum and the word caution don't go together though, and he set about smacking his 42 runs off just 19 balls before departing, leaving Guptill and Kane Williamson to continue.
Guptill, who has had a frustratingly lean run of form, finally got a World Cup half ton on the board as he made 57 off 76 balls. He was run out by Shenwari and Mangal in the 27th over.
Prior to that, Williamson had made 33 before being bagged by Shapoor Zadran, and later on Grant Elliott was run out for 19 by Nabi.
Ross Taylor and Anderson was at the crease when the winning runs arrived, as they took their time to get the two points on the board, with no pressure on them at all as they're already to the next round in first place.
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