Daniel Vettori became the 12th player to take 300 one-day international wickets as New Zealand eased to a six-wicket victory against Afghanistan. The 36-year-old, who took an impressive 4-18, is the first New Zealander to pass the landmark and now sits in the esteemed company of greats such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram and Glenn McGrath. Afghanistan required a seventh-wicket partnership of 86 between Najibullah Zadran and Samiullah Shenwari to post a respectable 186 all out, having chosen to bat, but a 19-ball 42 from Brendon McCullum ensured there would be no shock in Napier. Daniel Vettori became the 12th player to take 300 one-day international wickets . Vettori of New Zealand celebrates taking the wicket of Afsar Zazai of  Afghanistan at the Cricket World Cup . Vettori  celebrates with Brendon McCullum after taking the wicket of Zazai  during the Cricket World Cup match . Perhaps a mark of the man and an added insight into the where the focus of the team remains, Vettori said the landmark was something he would think about after the World Cup. 'Right now we are caught up in the middle of a World Cup,' he said. 'We have an important game on Friday (group game against Bangladesh), and then probably the most important of our careers the following Saturday (quarter-final). 'Maybe in a month, it will be the time to look back on it. I didn't go into the World Cup thinking about that milestone, I didn't believe I would take this many wickets in this few games.' Understandably stung from being smashed for a record-breaking 417 runs by Australia in Perth days earlier, Mohammad Nabi chose to bat after calling correctly at the toss. Afghanistan were made to pay for a choice that signaled a slight naivety within the camp, with their own coaching staff having previously admitted that bowling was the side's strong suit. The newcomers to the World Cup stage collapsed to 34-3 and then 59-6, as Vettori caused most of the damage after Trent Boult had Javed Ahmadi trapped lbw for just one. McCullum has developed into an imposing captain, known for his ingenuity and outrageously attacking fields – so his decision to bowl his spinner in just the third over was met with mild surprise. The decision was less genius and more to allow New Zealand's opening bowlers, Tim Southee and Boult, to switch ends. The 36-year-old is the first New Zealander to pass the landmark of 300 ODI wickets . New Zealand eased to a six-wicket win over Afghanistan at the Cricket World Cup on Sunday . He now sits in the company of greats such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram and Glenn McGrath . Vettori of New Zealand speaks at a post-match press conference following their Cricket World Cup win . Still, Vettori showed that he's as accurate in the third over as in the 15th as he struck with his first ball. Usman Ghani lost sight of the ball and saw his off stump disturbed. With his opening strike bowlers having switched ends, McCullum resumed the pace attack, and Asghar Stanikzai could only send a short ball from Boult into the geelful clutches of Martin Guptil. Southee, struggling with his line and length, was replaced by Vettori, who took No.300 by bowling Nawroz Mangal for 27 with the first ball of his third over. The Auckland-born spinner was on a roll and had Nabi (6) and Afsar Zazai dismissed off consecutive balls. Nabi was caught at slip, while Zazai was trapped leg before. That brought Najibullah to the crease for the hat-trick ball, and the batsman was welcomed by the sight of nine men around his bat, with no fielder outside the circle. However, he survived and showed maturity beyond his years in his partnership with Shenwari before departing after a run-a-ball 56 that ended when he top-edged a short and wide bouncer from Adam Milne to Vettori at third man. New Zealand's Ross Taylor gets a handshake from Afghanistan's Hamid Hassan (left) after the match . New Zealand are very much on course to end their World Cup victory drought . Shenwari, undoubtedly Afghanistan's best batsman in this tournament, was the anchor of his side's innings, and he made 54 off 110 balls before falling to Corey Anderson. An entertaining cameo from Hamid Hassan (16 off 21) took Afghanistan to 186, but for the fifth consecutive World Cup match New Zealand bowled out their opposition. The number of orange target T-shirts seemed to double after the resumption of play with the crowd undoubtedly expecting McCullum to send a few balls into the stand and help them earn a share of the pot of money for the 'one-handed crowd catch' promotion. But McCullum cleared the rope just once in his innings before being bowled by Nabi with one that kept a touch low. His departure unsurprisingly slowed the run chase, and when Kane Williamson picked out midwicket off Shapoor Zardan for 33, the Afghans believed they had a chance. Two comical run-outs saw Martin Guptill (57) and Grant Elliott (19) further add to the nerves of the McLean Park crowd, but Ross Taylor, the birthday boy, held his nerve to steer New Zealand home. The same side, the same outcome, the same feeling after the match – New Zealand are very much on course to end their World Cup victory drought.
Daniel Vettori became just the 12th player to take 300 ODI wickets . The 36-year-old is the first New Zealander to pass the landmark . He took 4-18 to earn his place among greats such as Muttiah Muralitharan . New Zealand eased to a six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Napier .