Trent Boult's double-strike helps New Zealand beat Scotland

New Zealand's fast bowler Trent Boult's tight spell yielded two wickets for just 21 runs, and helped his side beat Scotland by three wickets in their World Cup 2015 Group A match played at Dunedin on Tuesday.

Brendon McCullum, New Zealand's captain, won the toss and chose to bowl first. He had suggested, at the toss, that the pitch would assist the seamers for the first half hour and it did.

Boult struck with the first two balls he bowled, in just the second over of the match. He had Calum Macleod and Hamish Gardiner trapped in front of the stumps, with no answer to the movement.

McCullum stationed five slips and a gully for the hat-trick ball, which was too wide outside off to really test the left-handed Matt Machan. The attacking field remained in place for the rest of the over, and Boult beat Machan's edge three times in three balls.

New Zealand's attacking new-ball display left Scotland's top-order in tatters. Tim Southee then mirrored his fast-bowling partner and claimed two from two balls. He dismissed opener Kyle Coetzer and Preston Mommsen in the fifth over of the match. Scotland were tottering at just 12 runs for the loss of four wickets in the first five overs.

Machan and Richie Berrington then dropped anchor for Scotland and attempted to rebuild their innings. There were no more boundaries for the next eight overs but Machan and Berrington looked increasingly assured as their reached 60 for 4 at the end of the 20th.

Southee came back into the attack for the 21st over and the fifty partnership came up with both batsmen hitting him for fours. His next over was still more expensive, as Machan hooked him for six and Berrington also found the fence.

The duo fell just two-overs apart and their departure signalled an end to Scotland's resistance as the tail collapsed in just 36.2 overs and set the hosts 143.

New Zealand's stuttered in reply to the small target and lost wickets regularly. Three of their top four batsmen got starts but failed to capitalise. McCullum fell for 15, Martin Guptill for 17 and Kane Williamson for 38.

Iain Wardlaw and Josh Davey picked up three-wickets each and a tight-bowling display from them, put pressure on their more accomplished opponents. In the end, New Zealand wrapped up the win with more than half their overs to spare but they were made to struggle with the bat.

"It felt pretty good. I thought the ball came out relatively nicely, plus the wicket assisted a bit too. Everyone contributed and we got the job done in the end. It did swing for a bit longer than expected, plus the pace was there. Glad things fell into place though. Really enjoying my form with the white ball, and I continue to hope to make the most of the opportunities that come my way," Boult said.