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New Zealand's men have made their first ever final at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia.

New Zealand's men's hockey team on Thursday booked their first ever appearance in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with a crushing 4-1 win over hosts Malaysia, while India defeated rivals Pakistan 2-1.

The Kiwis had the game all but sewn up by half-time, racing to a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Ryan Archibald, Shea McAleese and Nick Wilson.

The Malaysians pulled a goal back through Hafifi Hafiz Hanafi in the 45th minute to give them a glimmer of hope but the match was eventually put beyond their reach with a Shay Neal goal to make it 4-1.

Malaysia's defeat mean they cannot qualify for the final as they are four points behind second-placed Argentina who they meet in the final preliminary round.

The South Americans will be vying to add to their nine points to secure the right to play New Zealand, who have previously never made it further than third place in the tournament which is an important warm-up for the London Olympics.

Former champions India defeated Asian Games winners and arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 but their chances to reach the final have virtually gone with only one more day of preliminaries on Saturday.

India's win over Pakistan was their 50th in 152 meetings and was a morale booster with Pakistan, last year's runners-up, facing their worst performance ever in the cup as they have fallen to the bottom of the table.

Earlier, favourites Britain were held to a 1-1 draw by South Korea.

Britain have eight points, and they play Pakistan Saturday, while South Korea with five points will meet New Zealand ahead of the final Sunday.

India have nine points and have no more fixtures.