After suffering a heavy defeat at the start of their Twenty20 tour of Pakistan, the writing seemed on the wall for a depleted Blackcaps squad, but this fringe collection under skipper Michael Bracewell has turned the five-match series on its head.
After a seven-wicket win in game three, New Zealand have pulled off a four-run victory to lead the series 2-1, giving selectors plenty of ponder before their World Cup team announcement.
The experienced head of allrounder Jimmy Neesham brought the contest home for the tourists in the final over, but it was the Kiwi newcomers who reduced Pakistani fans to tears.
"We came here with a goal to learn as much as we could," said fast bowler Will O'Rourke. "Obviously, we're a pretty young side, we tried to push the way that we play and hopefully that worked out in wins.
"It's worked out nicely so far."
With seven frontline Blackcaps at the Indian Premier league, this was an opportunity for a fringe collection to not only win against Pakistan's best at home, but to push for World Cup selection, to be announced Monday.
"You never know, with injuries and different things that can pop up at the last minute," coach Gary Stead told Newshub.
Highlighted in yellow was opener Tim Robinson, who topscored with a half century in his debut series, while Dean Foxcroft chimed in with a handy 34 runs off 26 balls.
O'Rourke produced the man-of-the-match performance, with figures of 3/27, including the prize scalp of Pakistan star Babar Azam.
"Today was my day," he said. "I got lucky with a couple of wickets here and there."
Luck played no part, just quality seam-bowling, with O'Rourke and Ben Sears instrumental in halting Pakistan's early charge.
Dangerman Fakhar Zaman led a courageous Pakistani fightback, but on 61, he too fell to some Sears magic, as the homeside fell four runs short.
"These players will be our future, so that's the encouraging thing," said Stead. "That's the nice thing about these sorts of tours for us - it naturally gives us a way to keep building depth."
This group has one last chance for recognition, with the fifth and final game on Sunday (NZ time).
