New Zealand narrowly missed out on a winning start to their tour by two runs in a thrilling finish to the first T20I on Wednesday, as left-arm pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi defended 17 runs in the last over.
The victory gave world number one ranked Pakistan their seventh consecutive win since July and 15th in 17 T20 internationals this year.
Pakistan, who are on a roll after whitewashing Australia 3-0 in Dubai on Sunday, now have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The third and final match of the T20 series will be played on November 4th in Dubai.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed praised his team's 'never-say-die' approach in bowling.
"New Zealand are a tough team, but we knew overs 6-12 were crucial and we had to restrict them there," he said during the post-match conference.
"I thought Shaheen and Hasan were superb and we were once again led admirably by bowlers."
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson believed his team came close to victory.
"We weren't far away, I thought we were quite good for large parts," said Williamson. "Pakistan pulled back after Colin Munro's knock — they are world number one for a reason."
The match between Pakistan and New Zealand will start at 9pm Pakistan Standard Time.
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