Martin Guptill praises New Zealand’s bowlers for setting the tone for victory over Sri Lanka

• New Zealand bowled Sri Lanka out for 136 and chased that score down without losing a wicket
• Guptill scored 73 as New Zealand chased down Sri Lanka is a ball over 16 overs

Martin Guptill says New Zealand struck upon the formula they’ll need to follow to win the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 in their convincing opening win over Sri Lanka.

The Black Caps put on a supreme display of seam bowling to hustle Sri Lanka out for 136 and clinically chased down the total without losing a wicket.

The seven-time semi-finalists might not be able to fly under the radar, as is their wont, for much longer with Guptill admitting his side have already found the winning combination.

“You want to build that momentum early at a major event and today, we did that,” said the opener, who ended undefeated on 73.

“Our bowlers set the tone early and made it difficult for Sri Lanka, putting a real good start on.

“If we bowl first in the next few games, we’ll back ourselves to make it difficult to score on the back of this performance.

“The beauty about our guys is they can exploit conditions quite regularly.

“If we’re then able to keep coming out and play with a bit of freedom with the bat, we’re going to have a pretty successful tournament.”

The late loss of Tim Southee to a right calf strain didn’t deter New Zealand as Matt Henry took up the mantle with the new ball.

Henry’s seven-over spell at the top yielded three wickets for 29 runs, striking twice in two balls and removing the dangerous Kusal Perera and the promising Kusal Mendis.

The 27-year-old bore the brunt of a brutal West Indies batting display in their final warm-up match, his nine overs taken for 107 runs.

“Matt had a tough time against the West Indies in the last warm-up game, but bowling to that lot is pretty difficult,” said Guptill.

“They can put you out of the park pretty readily.

“Having seen him put the ball in the right areas for long enough, it’s good to see him get the rewards he deserves.”

Another facet of New Zealand’s nigh faultless all-round display was their exceptional ground fielding and catching.

Guptill took a superb catch at second slip to get rid of Mendis and Trent Boult cut off several boundaries with athleticism in the deep.

“We aim to set the standards when it comes to fielding,” said Guptill.

“Fielding’s such a big part of the game now. You look around the squads in the tournament, there are some top fielding sides there.

“If you can be in the top two or three, you can save a lot of runs and go a long way to actually winning the competition.”