Pakistan ends South Africa's 10-match winning streak with 93-run victory in first test

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan ended world test cricket champion South Africa’s 10-match winning streak with a clinical 93-run victory on a turning wicket in the first test on Wednesday.

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali continued to prosper on turning home wickets with a rich match haul of 10-191 as the Proteas were bowled out for 183 after lunch on Day 4.

Noman has bagged 46 wickets in his last five home tests, including 20 against England and another 16 against the West Indies, after Pakistan chose last year to counter touring sides by making spinning wickets.

Noman followed his 6-112 in the first innings with a haul of 4-79 in a marathon unchanged spell of 28 overs, while Shaheen Shah Afridi mopped up the tail with some impressive reverse swing to finish with 4-33, as South Africa fell way short of its 277-run target.

“It’s gone exactly to plan,” said Pakistan captain Shan Masood, who was also in charge when his team finished bottom of the table in the last World Test Championship cycle.

“We had a lot of challenges in the middle and you have to give credit to South Africa, they kept coming back into the game. They’re a great measuring stick for us because they’re world champions. I’m glad we finished it off.”

Resuming on 51-2, South Africa lacked experience to deal with the spinners on an abrasive wicket that saw it concede a 109-run first-innings lead.

Afridi struck with the third ball of the morning when Tony de Zorzi (16), who scored a century in the first innings, was undone by a sharp delivery that thudded onto his back leg.

Tristan Stubbs' struggle against spin continued before he got a leading edge from a mistimed reverse sweep against Noman and gave a chest-high catch to Salman Ali Agha in the slips on 2.

Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton tried to put the chase back on track with an attractive 73-run stand but both fell before lunch to give Pakistan a clear advantage.

The 22-year-old Brevis, playing in only his third test and renowned for his batting exploits in white-ball cricket, had an early reprieve when Pakistan went for an lbw review from the first ball he faced off Noman.

Brevis then cut loose as he hoisted Noman for a straight six and two boundaries in one over before raising his half century with an edged boundary. He also lofted the left-armer for another straight six.

He reverse swept Noman for another four soon after completing his half century off 51 balls before he was bowled off a delivery that spun enough to clatter into the stumps.

Off-spinner Sajid Khan ended Rickelton’s long vigil when Agha held on to another low catch in the slips. He faced 145 deliveries for his 45 runs as South Africa limped to 137-6 at lunch.

Khan trapped Senuran Muthusamy lbw soon after the break with a full-pitched delivery that didn’t spun much, the left-hander missing out on an ambitious sweep, before Afridi cleaned up the tail.

“We have a bit to learn and we need to clean up our game and come back better in the next match,” said captain Aiden Markram, who is leading the team in the two-test series in the absence of the injured Temba Bavuma.

“We probably could have scored a few more runs in the first innings. A lot of us got in and got out, and we didn’t capitalize. If we tidy that up, it’ll put us in good stead.”

Markram was impressed with left-arm spinner Muthusamy getting 11 wickets in the match after putting in lot of hard work “behind the scenes.”

“He is exceptional,” Markram said. “He works really hard, bowls lots of balls, and takes his practice quite seriously. So it’s no surprise that he’s reaping the rewards out there in the middle, and I’m just really happy that he could maintain that form going forward.”

The second test in Rawalpindi begins on Monday. South Africa's spin resources will get beefed up with the return of the experienced Keshav Maharaj, who missed the first test due to injury.

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