The Black Caps won their second match out of two, in Pool A, by defeating the Scottish in an unusual three-wicket victory. The match was played at the University Oval in Dunedin, which is one of the most attractive international grounds on the globe.
The Scots, coached by New Zealand Grant Bradburn, are in their third World Cup campaign, and they are yet to win a match in nine attempts. They faced an in-form New-Zealand on their own patch; the World Cup co-hosts are six-time semi-finalists and have justified their position, as one of the tournament favourites.
The Scots were severely on the back foot by the time of the fifth, over when they were already 12-4 early doors, with some concerns that Canada's record lowest total of 36 all out might be challenged. For the first time in a World Cup, four of Scottish batsmen fell out for a golden duck, which was only the third instance of this occurring in a one day international. However, they managed to pick up, when the Sussex left-hander, Matt Machan (56), and Richie Berrington (50) put on a partnership of 97 runs. Between them, they scored 68% of the Scots' total, the second highest percentage ever.
New Zealand's left-arm seamer, Trent Boult, took advantage of the perfect early conditions, and claimed two early wickets in the first two balls of the second over.
Boult was the man-of-match; on Friday he had been bought by the Hyderabad Sunrises and will play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 for the first time. He will be joined in the Sunrises by past and present England players Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara. Although excited about the prospects of playing in the IPL, Boult is currently fully focused on delivering for New Zealand in the World Cup.
New Zealand's batting was surprisingly frenetic. Nevertheless, their bowling was wrapped up with 40 minutes to spare before lunch - the Scots were 142 all out in the 37th overs. They are now left at the bottom of Poll A table, after their first World Cup game. Their next match will be against England, in Christchurch on Monday. The Kiwis' will face England in Wellington on Friday.
