Pakistan’s spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan did the heavy lifting before Shaheen Shah Afridi’s fiery spell finished the job as Pakistan sealed a 93-run victory over South Africa on the fourth day of the first Test at the Gaddafi Stadium.
The win not only handed Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the two-match series but also brought an end to South Africa’s record 10-Test winning streak, their longest in history.
Spinners Take Charge, Afridi Applies The Finishing Touch
Defending a challenging target of 276 on a sharply deteriorating pitch, Pakistan’s bowlers maintained relentless pressure. Noman Ali, extracting both turn and bounce, bagged his third Test match 10-for, while Sajid Khan’s control complemented him perfectly.
Afridi, relatively quiet earlier in the match, returned for a decisive spell with the old ball. He unleashed reverse swing of vintage Pakistani quality, knocking over Kyle Verreynne with a vicious inswinger before sending Prenelan Subrayen and Kagiso Rabada’s stumps flying with searing yorkers.
The spinners took the largest share of wickets, but Shaheen was really sharp, getting the ball to reverse. The spell today was heartening — he got his pace up and made the ball talk. Historically, we’ve thrived on such surfaces. Reverse swing is vital to our success, and it was great to see our seamers contribute alongside the spinners.
Masood also praised Sajid and Noman for their stamina and precision: “Sajid was unlucky not to get more wickets, but bowling 50 overs in a game takes heart. Noman showed great consistency again. We’ve got depth on the bench — a couple of seamers and spinners waiting — and that gives us the right armory going forward.”
Masood: ‘It Went Exactly To Plan’
Reflecting on the win, the captain said Pakistan had executed their plans perfectly. “We won the Test match, and it’s gone exactly to plan,” he said. “The spinners came into play, reverse swing helped the seamers, and the batters did just enough. You have to give credit to South Africa — they kept coming back. They’re world champions, and they pushed us hard. I’m glad we finished it off.”
Brevis Sparkles But South Africa Falter
South Africa’s hopes briefly flickered through Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton, who fought against the odds with contrasting styles.
Brevis, playing only his third Test, counterattacked spectacularly for 54 off 54 balls, striking six fours and two sixes — one of them a no-look hit over long-on to reach his half-century. Rickelton was the anchor, compiling 45 off 145 balls with patience and discipline.
But their resistance was broken before lunch. Noman bowled Brevis through the gate with a sharply turning delivery, while Sajid drew Rickelton’s edge after a teasing spell of drift and dip.
Markram: ‘We Had Good Moments, But Must Tidy Up’
Despite the defeat, South Africa captain Aiden Markram found positives in his side’s effort.
There were really good signs with both bat and ball. It came down to small moments. We probably could’ve scored a few more in the first innings — a lot of us got in and got out. If we tidy that up, it’ll put us in a better position.
By the interval, South Africa were still 139 runs adrift with four wickets remaining, and once Senuran Muthusamy was trapped lbw soon after lunch, Pakistan’s victory seemed inevitable.
He’s exceptional. He works incredibly hard behind the scenes, bowls long spells, and it’s great to see him getting rewards. He’s an important part of our attack moving forward.
Early Strikes And Steady Decline
Earlier in the morning, Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs perished quickly — de Zorzi bowled by Afridi’s third ball of the day, and Stubbs falling to a reverse sweep caught smartly by Salman Agha, who took his fifth catch of the match.
From there, Pakistan’s spinners took complete control, strangling the scoring rate as the pitch disintegrated. South Africa managed to edge past Pakistan’s third-innings total, a first on such a surface, but the outcome was never in doubt.
Markram On The Road Ahead
Looking ahead to the second Test in Rawalpindi, Markram said South Africa would stick with their balanced combination of two seamers and three spinners.
I don’t think conditions will be too different in Rawalpindi. I was happy with the balance we had. But we’ll assess once we get there.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 378 & 167 all out in 46.1 overs (Babar Azam 42, Abdullah Shafique 41; Muthusamy 5-57, Harmer 4-51) South Africa 269 & 183 all out in 50.3 overs (Brevis 54, Rickelton 45; Afridi 4-33, Noman 4-79). Result: Pakistan won by 93 runs.
