New Zealand qualified for next year's elite Champions Trophy after scoring a 4-2 win over Pakistan in the final of the Champions Challenge Hockey tournament here.
The summit clash between the two top ranked teams began on an aggressive note, with penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas scoring in seventh minute to put Pakistan ahead 1-0.
Black sticks replied with a penalty-corner conversion 10 minutes later with Ryan Archibald deflecting on the post.
In the 20th minute, New Zealand scored a sumptuous goal with Phillip Burrows, diving full length to deflect a cross from the left, giving his team a 2-1 lead.
Pakistan could not penetrate the compact rival's defense and tried to use long passes but in vain.
In the last minute of first-half Rehan Butt pounced on a ball in the crowded circle and acrobatically managed to shoot it out of reach of Pontifex, levelling the scores.