Veteran Daniel Vettori chalked up another milestone as New Zealand maintained their perfect start in the Cricket World Cup to defeat Afghanistan by six wickets in Napier.

Vettori took 4-18 to become the first New Zealander to reach 300 ODI wickets as the visitors were dismissed for 186 at McLean Park to leave the home side with a comfortable run chase.

Captain Brendon McCullum got the hosts off to a typically aggressive start, crashing 42 from just 19 balls, and they cruised home in the 37th over to ensure they made it five wins from five in the tournament.

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But the manner of their victory would have been more emphatic if not for two late run outs that took some of the gloss off another solid performance.

The 36-year-old Vettori, aided by Trent Boult, sunk Afghanistan’s hopes of posting a challenging total at the run-friendly ground after the visitors won the toss.

Boult snared 3-34 to move level with new ball partner Tim Southee, who went wicketless, at the top of the tournament wicket-taking ladder on 13, with Vettori now one behind them.

Vettori’s economy rate of 3.00 is the best among frontline bowlers in the tournament.

He began the match with 298 victims and produced his best bowling figures in more than seven years to help reduce the associate side to 6-59 at one stage before a rally took them within sight of 200.

He even had the chance of a hat-trick, but a defiant Najibullah Zadran, with seven fielders in catching position swarming around his bat, kept the ball out before launching a rearguard assault.

The lefthander blazed 56 off the same number of balls to add a valuable 86 runs with Samiullah Shenwari just when it looked likely the 10,022 spectators would go home short-changed from a one-sided contest.

The crowd had earlier cheered when the TV umpire turned down a referral that would have reduced the minnows to 3-7.

Shenwari, who was hit a nasty blow on the back of the helmet by a bouncer from Corey Anderson, battled through to 54, but 186 on a ground where the average score for a side batting first was 307 before the match was never going to be enough.

McCullum pushed his first ball for a single before cracking successive boundaries to set the tone for the run chase.

He dragged a ball on to his stumps and Kane Williamson picked out a fielder before opener Martin Guptill, with his first fifty of the tournament, got them within reach of the total.

He was run out after an encouraging 57 and Grant Elliott was also caught short before it was left to Ross Taylor, celebrating his 31st birthday, to see the side home with an unbeaten 24.

-AAP