A stunning century from Mark Chapman has powered the Black Caps to a series-levelling victory in the fifth and final Twenty20 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

The tourists — chasing 194 — were in major strife after losing two wickets in the opening over and were reduced to 73 for four in the 10th over.

But Chapman unleashed — bringing up his century from 54 balls — to guide New Zealand to a six-wicket win.

Chapman, who was named player of the series, was delighted with the result against a strong Pakistan side.

“We were pretty happy to go into this game 2-1 down with a chance to level the series and we’re just thankful that we did the job today,” said Chapman, who ended on 104 (11 fours, four sixes) and scored the match-winning runs.

“We took a little bit of a dusting in the first two games but we’ve had some really good conversations behind the scenes as a batting group. As a bowling group we made adjustments as we went through the series and just really proud of the way the guys adapted. To finish 2-2 is a great result for us.”

The hosts smashed 113 runs off the final 10 overs to set New Zealand a challenging 194 to square the series, with Mohammad Rizwan falling just short of his second T20I ton with a 62-ball 98 not out.

The result looked increasingly unlikely for the Black Caps until Chapman took the game over with his maiden T20I century in what ended up being a comfortable victory for New Zealand.

Chapman said teammate Jimmy Neesham, who pitched in with 45 not out, played a crucial role in the win.

“Remembering to watch the ball in those moments [was key]. I was pretty thankful that Jimmy came out and struck the ball pretty well from ball one and took some pressure off me. Really grateful that we finished it off together.”

The series finishes level at 2-2 after the fourth T20 was abandoned due to a hailstorm.

Attention now turns to the Black Caps’ five-match ODI series in Pakistan, which begins on Friday.