Finn Allen blasted 74 off 41 balls as New Zealand posted 194-8 in the second Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Hamilton on Sunday.
Opener Allen struck seven fours and five sixes for the home side after they were asked to bat at Seddon Park, although the innings lost shape when he was dismissed in the 13th over.
Pakistan will need to score 195 to square the five-match series 1-1 after a resounding 46-run defeat in the opening game in Auckland on Friday.
New Zealand were 111 for one at the midway point but suffered a major setback soon afterwards when Kane Williamson was forced to retire hurt for 26.
Allen powered on in trademark big-hitting fashion before being bowled by a googly from leg-spinner Usama Mir.
New Zealand’s remaining batters struggled, with pace bowler Haris Rauf particularly adept over the closing overs, finishing with 3-38.
Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi repeated his decision to send in the Black Caps after winning the toss, having done so in the opening match of the five-game series that the hosts won by 46 runs in Auckland on Friday.
That result didn’t sway his thinking at Seddon Park.
“The wicket looks good and we want to use it first and make an early breakthrough,” said Shaheen, who was critical of his team’s poor fielding at Eden Park.
“We have to improve. If there are chances, we have to grab it,” he added.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson hoped his batting lineup could fire, as they did when posting 226-8 in the opener.
“But it’s a different venue so we have to look at what a good total is and put some good partnerships together,” Williamson said.
Pakistan will field the same team while New Zealand’s only change was to replace seamer Matt Henry with spinner Mitchell Santner, who wasn’t picked in Auckland after testing positive for Covid-19.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir, Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf.
