The Blakcaps have closed out a shaky 19-run win in the opening Twenty20 international against UAE at Dubai.
Tim Seifert's explosive 55 spearheaded the New Zealanders' cause with the bat, with Jimmy Neesham (25), Rachin Ravindra (21) and Cole McConchie (31) playing useful late cameos to help their side recover from some middle-over lethargy to post 155/6 on a challenging wicket.
Led by teenage debutant Aryansh Sharma's impressive 60 (43 balls), the UAE kept pace with their run chase, until Neesham claimed the 18-year-old's wicket in the 15th over.
That left the home side chasing 41 off 30 balls and seamer Tim Southee - in tandem with the typically miserly Mitchell Santner (2/22) - ensured there would be no late charge, cleaning up the rest of the order to finish with a five-wicket bag (5/25), as the UAE were bowled out for 136, with two balls remaining.
Southee is now just two wickets shy of Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, as the leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals (140).
Seifert looked in complete command during his whirlwind innings, putting his foot forward for regular selection, with a 30-ball half century that included three sixes.
He eventually miscued Basil Hammed to point in the eighth over, followed a couple of balls later by Santner to bring the UAE back into the contest.
The NZ innings stalled after the powerplay, with seven overs passing without a boundary.
Neesham found his feet with consecutive fours, before his dismissal set the scene for McConchie and Ravindra to see the Blackcaps down the stretch, with a 46-run partnership off just 28 balls.
Southee trapped captain Muhammed Waseem leg before wicket with the very first ball of the UAE innings, then had Vriitya Aravind caught at fine leg in his next over.
Sharma combined with Asif Khan for a 47-run partnership, which was broken by Mitchell Santner's caught and bowled.
UAE wickets regularly fell around the debutant until his own departure, which essentially killed off the contest.
The teams will play the second of their three-match series on Sunday (NZ time).
