Brendon McCullum, Guptill lay platform

25 overs New Zealand 131 for 2 (Brendon McCullum 58*, Guptill 58) v South Africa
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Half-centuries from Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum took new Zealand to 131 for 2 midway through their innings in the second one-dayer against South Africa. McCullum struck nine boundaries and a six in his unbeaten 58, exploiting the short square boundaries, an off-colour Dale Steyn and Robin Peterson, who could extract little turn from the surface. Guptill perished soon after he had made his half-century - his seventh in the home summer.

A hard Napier pitch that produced little movement blunted one weapon for South Africa's pacemen, but pace and bounce still made for an engrossing early exchange. Edges to third man proved fruitful for New Zealand inside the mandatory Powerplay, as Rob Nicol sought to pepper the square boundaries but reaped mixed results. An attempted slash through extra cover from Dale Steyn's first ball flew over second slip, but a scurry down the pitch and a swing towards midwicket collected nothing but fresh air.

Guptill was more content to watch the ball through to the keeper but was also more successful in his limited aggressive endeavours. Lonwabo Tsotsobe was blasted either side of the wicket in his second over, and Morne Morkel in his first. Nicol, meanwhile, perished to a straight one from Tsotsobe, in a poor attempt to turn another one square.

McCullum rode his fortune amid bursts of violence, as he edged a heave just short of third man on 6, before being dropped on 14 by Tsotsobe in his follow-through, two overs later. An attempted leave off Morkel also caught the edge and traveled to the fence, and the plethora of plays and misses encouraged the fast bowlers to keep banging it in outside off stump, even if the odd delivery found the middle of McCullum's bat.

It was Guptill though, who departed off the last ball of the 25th over, trying to cut Jacques Kallis too close to his body, leaving him ruing another missed opportunity to convert a fifty into a hundred.