Brendon McCullum: The way we bowled early on, 60 for 6, credit to Afghanistan for posting a total that was a little bit tricky for us. We got the ends wrong, and obviously it's great when you have a guy like Dan who can jump in and get a wicket and help the guys switch ends. Fielding could go up a gear, but I thought overall a good performance. We can improve, but overall not a bad chase, not a bad win for us. Special cricketer, what he's achieved in all three forms of the game for close to two decades. It's great to have him back, he's a very special member of our team and will continue to be so over the next few games. Wouldn't swap Boult and Southee for anyone [Twitter question - would you swap them for Wasim Akram/Aquib Javed who won the 92 World Cup].
New Zealand vs Afghanistan, 31st Match, Pool A - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
Mohammad Nabi: Good toss to win but we needed to score 280. The way New Zealand bowled, especially Vettori, they bowled very well. The top five batsmen, entire tournament, haven't done well. Hopefully we'll try in the next game. Shenwari has played well in the whole tournament, and a good start for Najibullah. We tried our best to take the match as long as possible.
After the dismissal of Kane Williamson, New Zealand continued ride on the partnership forged between Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor. Guptill, after getting his eye in, increased his run-scoring rate and reached his 22nd ODI fifty. The way things were progressing, it seemed as if New Zealand would cruise to an eight-wicket win, but Guptill, going for a quick single, was run out for 57.
It was a back-of-a-length delivery from Dawlat Zadran and Guptill tapped it to the right of point. There was no single there and he took on the fielder's arm after a moment's hesitation. The throw to the bowler's end missed but the fielder backing up from mid-on, Shenwari, rebounded it into the stumps and Guptill was caught a couple of inches short of his crease.
New Zealand now need just 44 more runs to win and they would be keen on finishing with seven wickets in hand.
So as expected, New Zealand have chased down 187 without breaking much sweat. With the last three runs needed to win, Corey Anderson swept a boundary off Mohammad Nabi to seal them another comfortable win of the 2015 World Cup. The co-hosts have made it five out of five. The game was always going to be a one-sided affair once Afghanistan were restricted to 59 for 6. But they kept fighting, with bat and ball, and didn't make the chase as easy as it was assumed.
The Black Caps still lost four wickets - a slightly unconvincing display from New Zealand's batsmen. But the good thing for them is that Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor spent a good amount of time at the wicket. They may still be some way off from achieving their full form, but this outing will give them a lot of confidence.
Daniel Vettori, as expected, is out Man of the Match. This is what he has to say: It was good. I think obviously both teams wanted to bat first. There is always a little bit in the Napier wicket. Probably a touch slower today and once again we got off to a good start with the fast bowlers. I just backed that up. It was a little bit more warm than we are used to, normally it is very pristine here. Once again the start we got Trent (Boult) and Tim (Southee) were excellent. Playing so much T20 cricket, I don't mind bowling with the new ball. I enjoyed my first World Cup as well, though I didn't play a game.