Aussies thrashed by rampant Kiwis

The match in a tweet: Black Caps on the boil! Guptill & co rock hosts along to 8-307, Boult & Henry roll Aussie top order, & Wade-Faulkner stand can't save the day – all out 148. 

The hero: Martin Guptill is in some touch. He made 82 against Pakistan last start and his 90 from 76 balls at Auckland's Eden Pak today – including five sixes, no less – was superb to watch. Guptill had never bettered 64 against the Australians previously, but today he put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons with a sizzling display of stroke-play that had the Black Caps 3-182 after just 25 overs.

Watch: Black Caps innings highlights

The shot: None better than this from Guptill, a 113-metre monster that landed on the roof at Eden Park. Judging by his reaction, he was pretty happy with how it came off the bat.

Watch: Guptill puts one on the roof

The support cast: First mentions here to the Black Caps pace attack, most notably Matt Henry and Trent Boult, who grabbed three wickets apiece inside a frantic nine overs to open the Australian innings. It was chaotic, crazy and from an Australian standpoint, catastrophic – the tourists fell to 6-41 having been 1-33 only minutes earlier.

Watch: Aussies collapse again

Credit also to Brendon McCullum, who blazed a quick-fire 44 from 29 and went past 6,000 ODI runs in the process, 24-year-old Henry Nicholls, who made an impressive 61, and allrounder Mitchell Santner, whose unbeaten 35 at the death pushed the Kiwis past 300. Santner also returned to finish off the match in style - his figures reading: 0.2 overs, two wickets for none. 

The consolation effort: Well bowled, John Hastings. The Victorian quick has impressed at almost every opportunity since joining the Australian side this summer and while his figures read only a tidy 1-39, he was excellent in cramping the Kiwi batsman for room, curbing their run-rate as a result. Credit also to Mitchell Marsh, who took two wickets and again found pace and carry in a quality spell. Matthew Wade (37 from 38) and Faulkner (36 from 33) combined for a seventh-wicket stand of 79, but ultimately it was to no avail.

The run-out: Maxwell missed out with the bat but he again enhanced his reputation in the field with this brilliant direct hit to catch Guptill short of his ground.

Watch: Super Maxi's run-out

The catch: Kane Williamson took a nice one-hander (see collapse video above) but this grab from Faulkner, from a scorching return shot by Adam Milne, was something else. Check it out.

Watch: Faulkner's freakish grab

The stat: Remarkably, Australia's collapse of five for eight is their second such disaster at Eden Park inside 12 months. During the World Cup, it was even worse; they lost 8-26 and ended up losing a thriller by one wicket.

The wash-up: Advantage, New Zealand. The first match of the Chappell-Hadlee series is safely in the hands of the hosts after a 159-run thrashing, and they've taken one giant stride towards retaining the trophy. The next match is on Saturday in Wellington, with game number three on Monday in Hamilton.