The 34-year-old arrived in Dunedin amid a run drought, having scored nought in the series opener in Christchurch and not passed 50 in T20 internationals since November 2019, against England in Auckland. This was his 12th innings since in the format.
“My job doesn’t change, I just went out and tried to do the best I could and fortunately it came off,” Guptill told Spark Sport.
He got in the zone early, powering Jyhe Richardson down the ground for six and continuing his roll, reaching his half-century off 27 balls.
He kept charging, was briefly on target for team-mate Glenn Phillips’ New Zealand record 46-ball T20 international century, and fell three short of his ton in the 15th over when caught at long off.