New Zealand have defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in their Pool A clash in the World Cup thanks to an impressive spell of bowling by Daniel Vettori.
The minnows were held to a modest total of 186 in their innings as Vettori held them in check with a fine display as he took 4-18 in his 10 overs, which enabled his side to chase the total with relative ease.
The Kiwis started their run chase at a blistering pace as Brendon McCullum blasted several boundaries in the opening overs as they raced past the 50-run mark in the sixth over.
However, the skipper was to fall for 42 off just 19 deliveries as he was bowled Mohammad Nabi, in an innings which included six fours and one six as he put his side well on their way to victory.
Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson were allowed to play themselves in due to brisk start handed to the team by McCullum, and both players were able to pick up runs with relative ease without taking risks.
The duo reached their 50 partnership off 70 balls, but Williamson was to fall for 33 when he was caught bySamiullah Shenwari off the bowling of Shapoor Zadran.
Guptill remained composed at the crease as he notched a comfortable half-century as he and Ross Taylor kept edging the Kiwis closer to their victory target.
Confusion between the pair cost Guptill his wicket as was run out for 57 by Nawroz Manga to put a blemish on the innings, and there was a further mix-up to come as Grant Elliott was run out for 19.
Taylor and Corey Anderson eventually got New Zealand over the line as Anderson brought up the winning runs with a 83 balls to spare with a boundary as the Kiwis maintained their 100% record in the tournament.
AUS bt SL by 64 runs
Australia have sealed their place in the Cricket World Cup quarter-finals with a 64-run win over Pool A rivals Sri Lanka in Sydney.
The co-hosts posted an impressive score of 376-9 before bowling the Sri Lankans out for 312 with 23 balls remaining.
Glenn Maxwell's 102 off just 53 balls stole the show, while Steven Smith (72), captain Michael Clarke (68) and Shane Watson (67) also helped to boost the Aussies' score out in the middle.
However, Aaron Finch (24) and David Warner (nine) struggled at the top of the batting order before Australia recovered in impressive fashion.
Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera took two wickets each for Sri Lanka, who also had Angelo Mathews,Seekkuge Prasanna and Tillakaratne Dilshan end with wickets to their names.
The Sri Lankans run-chase got off to a bad start as Lahiru Thirimanne was dismissed in the second over having made just a single, but Dilshan (62) and Kumar Sangakkara (104) got their side back on track with a dynamic partnership at the crease.
Despite their heroics with the bat, Mahela Jayawardene (19), Mathews (35) and Dinesh Chandimal (52) were the only other players to get beyond double figures for Sri Lanka before the lower order eventually crumbled.
James Faulkner finished with figures of 3-48 for the Aussies, while Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Watson also claimed wickets.
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