World Cup Cricket: Guptill fires Kiwis to 393/6 against Windies

Wellington, March 21:

New Zealand put up a mammoth total of 393/6 in 50 overs, thanks to Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 237, in their World Cup quarterfinal against the West Indies at the Wellington Regional Stadium here on Saturday.

The New Zealand innings had Guptill written all over it after captain Brendon McCullum opted to bat. The right-hander broke several records with his monumental knock which came in only 163 deliveries and included 24 boundaries and 11 sixes.

The 237 not out is now the highest individual World Cup score beating Chris Gayle’s 215 which he scored earlier in the tournament against Zimbabwe. It is also the second highest One-Day International (ODI) score after Rohit Sharma’s 264.

The 28-year-old from Auckland is the first New Zealander to score back-to-back World Cup hundreds, following his 105 against Bangladesh at Hamilton on March 13.

Guptill also broke the record of highest ODI individual score by a New Zealander when he went past his own 189 not out which came two years ago against the England at Southampton.

The double century helped the Black Caps post the highest World Cup knockout score, going past Australia’s 359/2 in the 2003 final against India.

All this came after Marlon Samuels dropped Guptill at square leg when he was batting at his individual score of four.

Guptill’s innings was purely about clean hitting and no slog shots, not even in the death overs. His ability to score straight down the ground helped the co-hosts score 153 runs in the last 10 overs.

Ross Taylor (42), Kane Williamson (33) and Grant Elliot (27) also played significant cameos as Guptill went about his business.

The Windies bowlers did not have much to boast about as all of them went for more than six per over.

Jerome Taylor (3/71) and Andre Russell (2/96) were the only ones to pick up wickets but both went for more than 9.6 runs per over.

Considering that West Indies have never chased down a 300 plus-target and have lost all three matches played here, it looks a difficult task for them.

Brief scores: New Zealand 393/6 in 50 overs (Martin Guptill 237 not out; Jerome Taylor 3/71) vs West Indies. (IANS)