Dropped in the first over, Martin Guptill lit up Wellington with the most stellar display of batting, crushing West Indies in a one-sided World Cup quarter-final.

In this sort of environment, it would take something special for a batsman to stand out. And Guptill achieved it by choosing a special occasion, a World Cup knockout, to deliver the performance of his life.

After four innings without a fifty, Guptill began peaking at a critical stage of the tournament. It began with 57 against Afghanistan, followed by 105 against Bangladesh. But that was hardly a preview for the storm he would uncork in Wellington.

In an ocean of fingerlings, Guptill was the lone shark. In his third-wicket stand of 143 – the highest of the match – with Ross Taylor, the latter’s contribution was 42. In all, Guptill punched 24 fours and 11 sixes, including one in the last over that landed on the roof. Having started the innings, and subsequently closed it out, Guptill reeled off the highest World Cup score of all time, and the second-highest in ODIs.

Chasing 393 for an improbable victory, West Indies came out in T20 mode. And while they lasted more than 20 overs, it was hardly enough to prevent a gargantuan defeat. Trent Boult’s four-wicket opening spell gave him the lion’s share in the wickets column, as West Indies went crashing down with 19-and-a-half overs in the bank.