Guptill's Record Score Helps New Zealand into World Cup Semis

Wellington: New Zealand's Martin Guptill smashed the highest score in World Cup history with 237 not out against West Indies to send his team into the semi-finals.

The 28-year-old's 163-ball innings featured 11 sixes and 24 fours and beat the 215 made by West Indies' Chris Gayle earlier in the tournament.

Guptill hit 137 from his last 52 balls to help his side post 393-6.

Trent Boult then took four early wickets as New Zealand bowled out the Windies for 250 to seal a 143-run win.

Gayle's 33-ball 61, featuring eight sixes, entertained the crowd as the Caribbean side scored at a furious pace. But they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out in 30.3 overs to spark jubilant scenes in Wellington.

New Zealand will now face South Africa in Auckland on Tuesday for a place in the World Cup final.

Guptill's score was the second best in ODI history behind Rohit Sharma's 264 and propelled his team to the highest total in a World Cup knockout match.

Having ended a run of 21 innings without a century in New Zealand's previous match against Bangladesh, he became the fifth player to make an ODI double hundred.

He joined Indians Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, and Gayle in the exclusive club.

His effort was also the fourth highest score in all List A cricket - limited-overs games that are not Twenty20s.

Opener Guptill, who was dropped on four by Marlon Samuels, already held the record for the best ODI score by a New Zealander, having made an unbeaten 189 against England in 2013.

He became the first New Zealander to score hundreds in consecutive World Cup innings and the first of his countrymen to bat through the full 50 overs three times in ODIs.

Gayle became the first man to make a World Cup double hundred against Zimbabwe in Canberra on 24 February.

But his record lasted only 25 days, with Gayle congratulating Guptill on the field when the New Zealander surpassed his score.

Brief scores
New Zealand - 393/6 (Guptill 237*, Taylor 3-71, Russell 2-96)
West Indies - 250 (Gayle 61, Boult 4-44)
Result - New Zealand won by 143 runs
MOM - Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

Scores	Upcoming	Results
South Africa vs Pakistan - 3rd ODI 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 1st Test - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan - December 26-30, 07:30 GMT 3rd ODI - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan at Harare Afghanistan won by 8 wickets (with 139 balls remaining) 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs

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