Compare that to England who never lost a wicket before the fourth over and had opening stands of 77 and 155 in the final two matches. They lost their third wicket – in chronological order - at 104, 86, 68, 267 and 192 across the series.
The situation is compounded with New Zealand not scheduled to contest another ODI until October or November away against Pakistan.
Guptill had scores of 13, 50, 3, 0 and 47 across the series; Munro's record read 6, 1, 49, 0 and 0.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson defended his openers based on form earlier this season.
"Both of them are match winners at the top. Both have played innings that contribute a long way towards winning games.
"It's just a shame this series, that they weren't able to put it together at the same time."
Today in England's seven-wicket win, Munro was caught off the third ball of the game.
Guptill anchored the innings early with 47 from 68 balls. Williamson (14 from 25 balls) and Tom Latham (10 from 19 balls) tried to offer support but were no match for England's pressure.
Mark Chapman, batting at No.5 in Ross Taylor's absence, looked ill at ease against the spin of Ali coming around the wicket.
Williamson acknowledged Taylor's absence, but preferred to share the blame across the batting collective.
"The disappointing thing was too many soft dismissals through that middle order.
"We failed to adapt over a period of time on a good surface that was a little soft to start and the ball stood up. There were definite decision-making errors on our part."
Jonny Bairstow, the man-of-the-match with 104 runs off 60 balls, paid tribute to England's bowling skill.
"The lengths our guys bowled and how relentless they were was commendable. That's how we applied the pressure early on.
"From there, there weren't any massive half volleys or short balls they could put away."
