Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam scored his second fifty in succession but once again ended up on the losing side as New Zealand won the second T20 international by 21 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series in Hamilton on Sunday.
Chasing a difficult target of 195 for victory, Pakistan were looking good for a comeback win when Babar and Fakhar Zaman were at the crease but the visitors' innings derailed once their 87-run third-wicket partnership was broken by Adam Milne in the 10th over.
The wicket of Fakhar stymied the momentum, and the Pakistan innings began to spiral down after that.
Babar Azam back in form but yet to take Pak to victory
Babar showed good fight, but once again lacked the finishing touch and was dismissed on 66 while Fakhar made 50 and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi contributed with 22.
But the rest all got out in single-digit scores which caused Pakistan's downfall in the match.
Adam Milne, Ben Sears shine for NZ
Milne finished with a 4-wicket haul from his full quota of overs while stand-in skipper Tim Southee, Ben Sears and Ish Sodhi grabbed a couple each to bowl out the visitors for 173 in 19.3 overs.
Earlier in the day, the Blackcaps rode on a brilliant 74 from opener Finnn Allen to post 194 for 8 on the board after being asked to bat first.
Kane Williamson retires hurt
Captain Kane Williamson also made a crucial contribution of 26 runs before he retired hurt due to a hamstring injury and was subsequently ruled out of the rest of the match with Southee taking over the captaincy from him.
