The Blackcaps have tasted defeat in their Twenty20 World Cup opening match, falling to a five wicket loss against Pakistan in Sharjah.
Defending their total of 134/8, the Blackcaps appeared to have Pakistan on the ropes at 87/5 in the 15th over of the chase.
But an unbroken stand of 48 runs between Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali (both 27 not out) completely swung the result back in Pakistan's favour, clearing the ropes four times between them to see their side home with eight balls to spare.
After losing the toss and being sent into bat first by Pakistan, the Blackcaps' batters struggled to get going in the low, slow conditions of Sharjah.
Opening the batting for the first time in an official T20, Daryl Mitchell was the best on show of the Blackcaps' lineup.
The 30-year-old struck an equal innings-best of 27, hitting two sixes and one boundary in his innings. Devon Conway also added 27, but he too failed to turn his start into a substantial score.
A 34-run partnership between Conway and Kane Williamson (25) promised to push the Blackcaps to a competitive total. But when the Kiwi skipper was run out by Hasan Ali off his own bowling at 90/3, none of the Blackcaps' batting order could provide the required finish.
Haris Rauf was the standout bowler for Pakistan, taking 4/22 from his four overs, dismissing Martin Guptill, Conway, Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner.
Chasing 135 for victory, fresh off the back of reeling in a target of 152 for a 10 wicket victory against India, Pakistan's opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam started strongly.
The openers added 28 for the first wicket, before Tim Southee struck, clean bowling Babar with a slower ball, and picking up his 100th T20 International wicket in the process.
But a middle order wobble looked to have the Blackcaps in the drivers seat, as Pakistan slumped from 47/1 to 87/5, as Asif joined Malik at the crease.
A stunning catch from Conway looked to be the icing on the cake as the Blackcaps pushed for victory, as he dived full strength on the cover boundary to dismiss Mohammad Hafeez.
Needing 37 runs from the final 24 balls, Asif took the attack to Southee, hitting consecutive sixes in the 17th over, before combining with Malik for 15 runs from the 18th over, bowled by Santner.
One final six, coming off the bowling of Trent Boult, all but sealed Pakistan's victory, as Asif finished with 27 not out from 12 balls, hitting three sixes and one boundary.
Captain Williamson lamented his side's effort with the bat, but praised his team for making the most of difficult conditions.
"We would have liked about another five or ten [runs]," Williamson says.
"To be fair, I thought we had a very competitive total at the first half, but in hindsight, you always want a few more.
"But there were a lot of really important roles that allowed us to get that competitive total, so there's a lot of good to take from it.
"[It would] be nice to cloth another boundary or two, but timing was quite challenging to come by. That's the nature of the beast.
"Sometimes you try and adapt to these different surfaces accordingly and try and make contributions to the team. Guys went out there today and really gave that a good shot."
The win sends Pakistan to the top of Group II, with two wins from two matches played, while the Blackcaps will have to bounce back quickly, tasked with facing pre-tournament favourites India on Monday morning (NZ time).
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