A ruthless opening spell from pace man Tim Southee has set the Black Caps up for a 61-run Duckworth-Lewis win in the first one-day international against Pakistan in Wellington.
Southee grabbed two wickets in the first over at the Basin Reserve after the Black Caps set a daunting target of 316 for the visitors to chase down.
He went on to finish with figures of 3-22 as Pakistan struggled to 166-6 before steady rain forced the match's abandonment at 6.45pm.
Southee trapped Azhar Ali lbw with the fourth ball of the first over, a decision which was upheld on review, then removed Babar Azam the same way two balls later with a delivery which looked a little high.
Trent Boult induced a loose shot from Mohammad Hafeez late in the fourth over, Southee running in from backward square leg to take the catch and leave Pakistan reeling at 13-3.
Opener Fakhar Zaman was immovable, anchoring the innings with an unbeatenl 82, but couldn't find a teammate capable of sticking around at the other end.
Shadab Khan came closest, putting on 78 for the sixth wicket before he top-edged Boult to Latham in the 27th over to leave Pakistan 132-6 before rain halted play three overs later.
Earlier, Kane Williamson's 115 had set up a record Basin Reserve ODI tally of 315-7 for the Black Caps.
It was Williamson's 10th ODI ton, his 27th international century and came off 117 balls.
Williamson's century aside, New Zealand's total was underpinned by two solid partnerships.
Colin Munro and Martin Guptill set the tone in blustery conditions with an
83-run stand before Hasan Ali finally removed Munro three balls into the 13th over.
His 58 off 35 balls included six fours and two sixes, and continued the form which featured a 53-ball 104 in the third Twenty20 against the West Indies earlier in the week.
Guptill and Williamson then put on 73 for the second wicket before Guptill was gone for 48.
Hasan, who headed the Pakistan bowling with figures of 3-61, bowled Ross Taylor for 12 in the 33rd over, Tom Latham making only three before he followed in the next over to leave New Zealand 198-4.
But Williamson and Henry Nicholls steadied the ship with a 90-run stand for the fifth wicket before Nicholls was dismissed on 50 by Hasan Ali with just two overs remaining.
The second ODI of the five-match series is at Saxton Oval in Nelson on Tuesday.
NZN
