Australia bounced back from a narrow opening loss to defeat New Zealand with one ball to spare in the second women's Twenty20 international on Tuesday.
New Zealand, who won the first match of the series with two balls to spare earlier in the day, reached 6-132 after electing to bat at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.
Australia, thanks largely to Meg Lanning's 68 off 56 balls, chased down the target with five wickets in hand to level the series at 1-1 with one match to play.
The Southern Stars were on course for victory with 22 required from the final four overs before Lanning was caught at backward square off Sian Ruck (2-17) in the 17th over.
New Zealand seamer Amy Satterthwaite (0-21) then breathed life into the contest after conceding just one run in the following over.
But the White Ferns failed to hold on as Sarah Coyte, who made an unbeaten nine off 11 deliveries, hit the winning runs in a thrilling finale.
Earlier, a superb fielding effort from Australia put New Zealand on the back foot.
Erin Osborne was the pick of the bowlers with 1-15 off three overs, while Megan Schutt (2-20) and Lisa Sthalekar (1-20) also proved valuable.
Satterthwaite led New Zealand with 44 off 41 deliveries, though the Kiwis were left to rue the loss of four wickets for just nine runs towards the end of the innings.
The series concludes with game three at the same venue on Thursday.