Kiwis stutter to tense three wicket win against resilient Scotland in WC tie

New Zealand edged past a spirited Scotland side to claim a three wicket victory on Tuesday in their World Cup Pool A group stage game at University Oval in Dunedin.

Put into bat, Scotland were reeling at 12 for four wickets in the 5th over but Matt Machan (56) found an able ally in Richie Berrington (50) as the duo steadied the ship by adding 97-run fifth wicket partnership.

However, Preston Mommsen-led side failed to add any substantial contributions as they ended up posting a paltry target of 142 runs.

Chasing the target, opening batsmen Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum failed to give their team initial momentum as they fell cheaply for 17 and 15 runs respectively.

Big-hitting Kane Williamson (38) added a 40-run fourth wicket partnership with Grant Elliot (29) to help his side near the target.

In a bid to finish off the game in rush, Williamson, Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi fell prey to Josh Davey's deliveries.

Josh Davey and Iain Wardlaw were the pick of the bowlers for Scotland as they captured three wickets each.

Subsequently, Daniel Vettori smacked the boundary off Wardlaw's delivery to get the winning runs and claim an unconvincing win.

Left-arm pace bowler Trent Boult has been declared as the Man of the Match for his match figures of 2 for 21 in six overs.