Guptill says prolific year made him 'more confident'

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill has admitted that he has gained a lot more confidence after producing a rich vein of form in the ODI format this year.

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The 29-year-old prolific batsman scored an aggressive 79 from 56 balls during his side's seven-wicket win in the opening ODI of the five-match series against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval.

Guptill is currently leading the list of maximum ODI run-scorer of the year with 1366 runs. Star batsman Kane Williamson, who is unlikely to play the second ODI on Monday, is only 49 runs behind his compatriot.

Reflecting on his achievement, Guptill said that he hopes to be at the top of the list in view of playing maximum number of games than anyone else in the world this year, Stuff.co.nz reported.

The opening batsman has played five more innings than his team-mate Williamson and 12 more innings than South Africa's swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers.

Guptill, who averaged just 28.18 before the World Cup, became the highest scorer in the game's pinnacle event history by smashing an unbeaten 237 against the West Indies in March. He has only been dismissed in single figures once since the start of the tournament.

New Zealand are currently leading 1-0 in the series.