Once Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips got going, the final result was the same.
The middle-order batters combined for an unbroken 139-run stand
for the fourth wicket at Hagley Oval, hauling their side out of an early hole and powering them to a fourth straight victory.
Chasing 159 on a surface that, unlike those earlier in the series, offered some assistance to the bowlers, New Zealand had been reduced to 20-3 in the third over.
But with the aid of generous fielding from Pakistan, Mitchell (72no off 44) and Phillips (70no off 52) rendered that a mere blip in an otherwise ascendant week, completing a seven-wicket win with 11 balls to spare.
Their match-winning stand was the highest fourth-wicket partnership for the Black Caps in T20s, the pair consolidating before accumulating and, eventually, attacking.
It all proved too much for the tourists, who might have been quietly content with their 158-5, given teams batting first in T20Is at Hagley had an average score of 162.
Mohammad Rizwan (90no off 63) took almost sole responsibility for reaching that competitive score, the world’s third-ranked batsman having previously collected 56 runs in three innings.
Rizwan lost his partner in the second over as, after the Black Caps won their first toss, Matt Henry found the edge of Saim Ayub. Henry (2-22) was well assisted by Lockie Ferguson (2-27) as the seamers found some movement, though Rizwan pressured Adam Milne to hit him off his line.
Pakistan ended the powerplay on 51-1 before Milne responded by getting a false shot from Babar Azam, removing the key man for fewer than 50 for the first time this series. His departure combined with Mitchell Santner’s introduction to change the course of the innings.
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