Perfect NZ through to semi-finals

The match in a tweet: Black Caps are through! Guptill fires as NZ maintain perfect record to guarantee semi-final spot, while Pakistan are now on the edge

The hero: After a crucial innings of 39 against Australia on Friday, Martin Guptill more than doubled his tally tonight to power the Black Caps to a strong total of 180. Guptill so dominated his opening stand with Kane Williamson that the skipper needed only to give his partner the strike, compiling a steady 17 from 21 balls before he was dismissed with the score on 62 in the eighth over. Guptill continued the onslaught before he eventually fell for 80 from 48 balls, setting the perfect platform for the middle order to hit out late on. The right-hander hit 10 fours and three sixes, a trio of towering maximums that only he and a handful of others in the world can hit.

The support cast: The stars of NZ's opening two matches, unheralded spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, impressed once again on a surface that wasn't meant to suit their style of bowling on this occasion. Pakistan's innings started poorly for Santner as an aggressive Sharjeel Khan hit him for three boundaries in the first over, but the left-armer responded to grab 2-14 from his remaining three overs to take his tournament tally to eight wickets. Legspinner Sodhi was even stingier than his teammate, grabbing the key wicket of Shahid Afridi to finish with 1-25 from four to take his economy rate for the tournament to an outstanding 4.25 from three games.

The consolation effort: Pakistan needed a brisk start in pursuit of 181 to win and that's exactly what they got in the form of aggressive opener Sharjeel Khan. The left-hander's frailty against spin that was laid bare at Eden Gardens on Saturday night led NZ to open with left-arm tweaker Mitchell Santner, but Sharjeel responded by hitting him for three boundaries and out of the attack. With the seamers operating from both ends, Sharjeel continued to take up the attack and hammered nine fours and one beautifully timed six over square leg. It was the start Pakistan had wanted - they were 1-65 in the sixth over when Sharjeel fell for 47 from 25 balls - but they never got going after he was dismissed.

The prediction: The genius of cricketing legend Wasim Akram seemingly knows no bounds, as he proved in the commentary box tonight. With new NZ batsman Colin Munro on strike, Akram called for Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi to be more aggressive with his field placings and bring in a slip, an opinion that was justified in just a matter of seconds. A wrong'un from Afridi the very next ball bamboozled Munro, who edged the ball through the vacant slip area and down to the boundary for four. It mattered little however, with Afridi removing Munro just three balls later.

The farewell: Skipper Shahid Afridi all but confirmed during the post-match interview that the match against Australia on Friday will be his last for Pakistan should they fail to advance to the semi-finals. Afridi announced last year that the tournament will be his international swansong, but speculation that he may play on has been rife in recent weeks. Afridi will enter the match against Australia on 97 career wickets, needing three more scalps to become the first man in history to take 100 in T20 internationals.

The stat: Mohammad Amir finished with the unflattering figures of 0-41 from his four overs, an economy rate of 10.25 that is his worst for a four-over spell in his 28-match career.

The wash-up: Tonight's result means New Zealand, one of the underdogs in the tricky Group 2, move to six points and are the first team guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals, no matter what happens in their final group match against Bangladesh. On the other hand, the loss for Pakistan means they must beat Australia on Friday and hope for other results to go their way if they are to join the Blacks Cap in the final four.