Cricket World Cup 2015 4th Quarter Final Match

Martin Guptill seals the Final spot for New Zealand with his unbeaten 237 - The 4^th Quarterfinal of the World Cup 2015 was played between the host nation New Zealand and West Indies. This was a test for the West Indies team as the home team has never lost a match playing in their home conditions in this tournament. The match started off with New Zealand winning the toss and deciding to bat first. It was a good toss to win as putting up a good score ahead in the knock out match is   a confidence booster.

Batting first the Kiwi failed to have a good start as the inform batsman Brendon McCullum lost his wicket in the 5^th over of the game. This was a great loss for the team as in the tournament he always provided a great start. Martin Guptill today seemed to be in a good knick as he was striking the ball well. On the other hand Kane Williamson guided the innings to a score of 89 in the 16^th over before losing his wicket. He scored 33 runs for the team before losing his wicket. Guptill and Ross Taylor had a huge partnership between them as Guptill took the driver’s seat and gave his team a much required momentum. Taylor lost his wicket in the 39^th over after scoring 42 runs. He left his team at a score of 232 runs. The stage was set to score huge in the remaining 11 overs and Guptill made full use of it. He scored 237 runs in his innings of 163 balls. New Zealand posted a mammoth score of 393 runs in 50 overs.

The West Indies side had a huge task at hand to make sure that they reach the next round of the cup. They had a disastrous start to the chase as they lost 2 wickets in 6^th over of the game. Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles scored 12 and 3 runs before losing their wicket. Chris Gayle looked in different form in the match and was determined to make it count. He kept scoring at a good pace but the rest of the team failed to help him out. He scored 61 runs in 33 balls but lost his wicket in the 17^th over of the game leaving the team at a score of 120/5. His wicket was the final nail in the coffin as the remaining team lacked the firepower to take the team to such a huge score. The West Indies side ended their world cup dream at a score of 250 in 31^st over as New Zealand booked their Semi Final seat to meet South Africa in order to march forward to the finals. Martin Guptill was named as the man of the match.