New Zealand thumped Afghanistan by 149 runs in the 16th match of the World Cup in India to secure a top spot in the points table after four wins in four games.

Chasing a target of 289 runs, Afghanistan were all out on 139 in the 35th over. Trent Boult and Matt Henry struck early as Afghanistan lost openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran early on.

Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner took three wickets each while Trent Boult took two scalps to make sure Afghanistan suffered a batting collapse in Chennai.

For Afghanistan, Rahmat Shah remained the top scorer as he added 36 runs, followed by Azmatullah Omarzai, who made 27. No other Afghan batter could stay in the crease for longer, where six batters failed to reach a double-digit score.

Batting first, New Zealand set a 289 runs target for Afghanistan. Glenn Phillips was the highest run scorer for the Blackcaps, hitting 71 off 80 balls. Other than him, skipper Tom Latham and Will Young also scored fifties to help New Zealand reach 288 on the loss of six wickets.

For Afghanistan, Azmatullah Omarzai and Naveen-ul-Haq took two wickets each while Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took one wicket each.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bowl in the World Cup match against New Zealand.

The decision to bowl led to an early breakthrough as Devon Conway fell, leaving NZ 28/1.

Afghanistan kept the same eleven that upset defending champions England in their third match in Delhi after losing the first two games.

New Zealand, second in the 10-team table with wins in all three matches, brought Will Young back into the team after skipper Kane Williamson fractured his thumb in the last game against Bangladesh

Afghanistan are sixth in the table which is topped by India with six points.

The top four teams from the round-robin league will qualify for the semi-finals. The final is in Ahmedabad on November 19.

Teams

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (capt/wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Mark Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult