5 Things: Vettori's heroics, Gayle's potential finale and Kiwis' Cup hopes

Here are five things we learned from New Zealand's quarterfinal win against the West Indies on Saturday at the Cricket World Cup:

1. Vettori's catch could be signature moment for New Zealand

There are strong odds that the winner from Thursday's India-Australia semifinal will be the eventual Cup champion, but there seems to be a sense of destiny surrounding undefeated New Zealand (6-0-0). There have been plenty of memorable moments: Brendon McCullum's explosive start with 65 against Sri Lanka in the Kiwis' opener, Tim Southee's seven wickets against England, Trent Boult's five against Australia, Kane Williamson's six to give New Zealand a one-wicket win against Australia and Martin Guptill's record-setting 237 not out against West Indies.

But Daniel Vettori's one-handed leaping catch might be the defining moment people will look back on if New Zealand win it all. It may not seem significant in the context of a 143-run win, but it was awe-inspiring to see Vettori catch so much hang time and almost nonchalantly react after knifing the ball out of the air. Within minutes, it was a Twitter meme.

There is a bit of symbolism behind the catch, too. Vettori has been played for New Zealand for 18 years now, more than half his life. In the past two years, he has dealt with a career-threatening Achilles injury and had to work overtime to get healthy enough to even be considered for the final 15-man squad. Not only did he return to the starting lineup, the 36-year-old has also looked so fresh he could stick around for the next Cricket World Cup in 2019.

Most of New Zealand's up-and-coming talents have stolen the headlines, but the veteran's scene-stealing grab seems to signal greater things for the Kiwis than bowing out in the semifinals for the seventh time.

2. First ball set the tone for misses that followed

Martin Guptill's unbeaten 237 will go down as one of the greatest Cricket World Cup innings in history, for the record it set and that it came in the knockout stage. From the West Indies' perspective, though, the feat could have been thwarted on the third ball of the match when Guptill was dropped by Marlon Samuels on 4. But it was the first ball that exposed West Indies' mental readiness, or lack thereof, for this win-or-go-home match.

Guptill drove the first ball from Jerome Taylor back down the ground, and the ball could have been saved from reaching the boundary had Sulieman Benn put in even a standard effort. West Indies captain Jason Holder ran from the opposite side of the field to get to the ball before Benn, but still couldn't save it. Samuels' drop came minutes later and seemed intertwined with the initial lackluster jog put forward by Benn. New Zealand, meanwhile, flew all over the field to save every run and go for every catch.

Later in the 30th over, Guptill was on 86 and had a chance off a Samuels delivery. Guptill's head sank when the ball left his bat, thinking he was going to be out, but Taylor allowed the ball to short-hop him rather than diving out for a chance. At worst, the ball would have gone past him for an extra run if the dive didn't produce a catch. There's a big difference between 86 and 237, but not as much between 237 and 238.

3. Chris Gayle's finale?

West Indies allrounder Chris Gayle told ESPNcricinfo after the match that he was not retiring from international cricket, but said he would not be available to play against England in the home Test series that follows the Cricket World Cup, since it will clash with the Indian Premier League.

Gayle may have been the top scorer for West Indies on Saturday with 61 runs off 33 balls, but he clearly looked uncomfortable while battling through a recurring back injury that has slowed him down in recent years. Chronic back problems don't all of a sudden go away, particularly for someone who turns 36 later this year. It's hard to see Gayle playing too much longer for West Indies, and this was almost certainly his last World Cup. West Indies will miss him, especially since he was their only hope of winning in most games at this tournament.

4. Trent Boult is tournament's most devastating bowler

Australia's Mitchell Starc may be the most indispensable bowler left in the tournament, given the weight of wickets he has taken compared to the rest of his teammates, but no one has been more acute than Boult. The extraordinary movement he gets through the air has exposed top-order players' weak techniques and helped him move past Starc as the Cup's leading wicket-taker.

Boult wasn't even a certain starter for New Zealand on the eve of the Cricket World Cup despite being a Test team regular. Yet New Zealand is a more well-rounded force with him, and his presence has made the team a must-watch unit in the field. Backed up by the aggressive captaincy of McCullum, Boult is capable of taking a wicket with every ball.

5. West Indies' decline not ending any time soon

Over the past two months, West Indies have conceded the following ODI achievements:

--Fastest ODI 50.
--Fastest ODI 100.
--Fastest ODI 150.
--First team to allow three players from opposition to score 100 in same innings.
--Sixth-highest successful chase in any World Cup.
--Twice allowed scores of 400-plus, including second-highest score of all-time.
--The record for fastest ODI hundred set by AB de Villiers in January beat Corey Anderson's record set on New Year's Day 2014, also against the West Indies.

West Indies might still be competitive in T20 cricket, but they are slipping further backwards in ODIs and their Test record isn't much better. As Tony Cozier recently wrote for ESPNcricinfo, it's time for everyone to come to grips with the fact that the 1970s era of the West Indies' back-to-back World Cup wins is long gone.