New Zealand are facing a demanding batting examination in the fifth and deciding one-day cricket international against Pakistan at Carisbrook.

Asked to bowl first after Pakistan captain Moin Khan won the toss, the hosts struggled to contain the tourists' volatile batting line-up, which piled on 285 in their allotted 50 overs on the best batting surface in the country.

Pakistan's total featured half-centuries of contrasting nature from recalled opener Shahid Afridi and master craftsman Yousuf Youhana, and some creative late hitting from captain Moin Khan - who smashed 36 off 20 balls.

Afridi, dropped twice and caught off a no-ball, rode his luck with a rollicking 65 off 55 balls, his half-century arriving off just 40 balls, while Youhana manipulated the New Zealand field with deft placements, scoring 68 off 71.

The series is locked at 2-2.