Mark Chapman struck a blistering 94 Friday as New Zealand scored 204 in the third T20 against Pakistan and moved into a strong position to clinch the five-match series.
The tourists will need to score 205 to win in Auckland and reverse their fortunes after heavy losses in the first two games.
Chapman dominated after New Zealand were asked to bat, taking advantage of the small Eden Park boundaries as he tallied 11 fours and four sixes from just 44 balls faced.
The left-hander fell agonisingly short of a second T20 century when he mistimed a slower ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi and was caught at short third man.
The rest of the home side’s batsmen struggled to get going, aside from captain Michael Bracewell’s 31, as they were dismissed from the penultimate ball.
Experienced seamer Haris Rauf bowled Bracewell and finished with Pakistan’s best figures of 3-29.
Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and seamer Abbas Afridi, who both missed Tuesday’s game two loss in Dunedin, justified their recalls by taking two wickets each.
New Zealand made one change, recalling Kyle Jamieson in place of fellow seamer Zak Foulkes.
Jamieson took three wickets when New Zealand won the opening match by nine wickets in Christchurch.
New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Hay, Michael Bracewell (capt), Ish Sodhi, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears
Pakistan: Mohammad Haris, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (capt), Irfan Khan, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Umpires: Sam Nogajski (AUS), Shaun Haig (NZL) TV umpire: Chris Brown (NZL) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
