New Zealand thump Zimbabwe by 10 wickets

AHMEDABAD, (Reuters) – The New Zealand opening  batsmen complemented the efforts of their bowlers and thrashed  Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in a one-sided match to notch up their  second World Cup win today.
Paceman Tim Southee led a disciplined New Zealand bowling  show to skittle Zimbabwe for 162 runs after the Africans chose  to bat first in the Group A match at the Sardar Patel Stadium.
Southee bowled full and fast to pick up three wickets for 29  while captain Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills, who returned from a  back injury in place of batsman Jamie How, picked up two wickets  apiece.
Openers Martin Guptill (86 not out) and Brendon McCullum (76  not out) then came back and swatted away whatever Zimbabwe threw  at them and reached the target in under 34 overs.
New Zealand captain Vettori appeared a satisfied man after  their second 10-wicket triumph in the tournament.
“I think this was the performance we were looking for. Right  from the start… the way we bowled, the discipline we showed…  the performance with the bat from Guptill and McCulllum… this  was what we have been looking for from a long time,” he said.
The lopsided win, however, denied the New Zealand  middle-order batsmen to get a workout before their crunch match  against Pakistan on Tuesday in Pallekele.
But the captain was not worried.
“This is what we were after, where two guys take  responsibility and that’s what we need to do in the big games  coming up against Sri Lanka and Pakistan,” Vettori said after  the match.
Both the right-handers were equally comfortable against  medium pace and spin and used their feet well to deny their  opponents any breakthroughs.
Zimbabwe got off to a poor start in the morning after  captain Elton Chigumbura opted to bat first on a placid pitch.
The run out of opener Charles Coventry in the second over of  the morning put Zimbabwe on the back-foot early and the New  Zealand bowlers ensured their opponents never recovered from  there.
The maximum damage was done within the first 15 overs of the  innings when Zimbabwe lost half their side with just 46 runs on  the board.
Opener Brendan Taylor (44) put up some resistance and along  with Greg Lamb added 40 runs for the sixth wicket, which helped  Zimbabwe get past three figures.
Prosper Utseya, with a gritty knock of 36 managed to take  the African nation past the 150-run mark.