Kamikaze McCullum, sticky-fingered Guptill

"Those that know me know I'm either all-in or all out," Brendon McCullum had said on the eve of the match. He went on to prove it in the ninth over, when he pulled exactly the kind of manoeuvre that landed him a four-week injury layoff prior to this match. Chasing a Babar Azam cover drive, McCullum used his headfirst kamikaze dive at the boundary again. This time he couldn't save the boundary, but did manage to avoid upsetting his back again.

Martin Guptill took four catches in Pakistan's innings, and the best take of the lot was his first. Spotting a short ball from Trent Boult, Ahmed Shehzad moved quickly to his back foot and played a good pull shot, middling the ball and rolling his wrists to keep the shot down. Only, he had failed to find the gap. The ball went rapidly to Guptill at short midwicket, who got both hands down to shin-height to complete a very sharp catch.

Pakistan's last recognised batting pair were attempting to rebuild after the quick loss of middle-order wickets, when fortune helped New Zealand make another breakthrough. Sarfraz Ahmed hit a length ball down the ground off Grant Elliott, in the 39th over. The bowler attempted to stop the ball in his follow through, but managed to get only a few fingers to the ball. Non-striker Mohammad Rizwan was not far out of his crease, but Sarfraz had hit the ball so hard, the ball clattered into the stumps at his end before he could ground his bat.

Spinners can sometimes be fodder at Eden Park with straight boundaries barely 50 metres away, but on Sunday, two spinners found the means to strike back. First, Mitchell Santner's second over had been clattered for 20 by Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez, but he was kept in the attack, and made a crucial blow. Next over, he got Hafeez to top edge a sweep to deep square leg, ending a 134-run stand. Then in New Zealand's innings, Azhar Ali saw his first two overs go for 16, then broke a big partnership for his team as well, having Guptill caught at point. He removed Kane Williamson next over for good measure.