Pakistan completed a commanding 93-run win over South Africa in Lahore yesterday, sealing the first Test of the series and snapping the Proteas’ ten-match winning streak.

Defending a target of 276 on a fourth-day Gaddafi Stadium pitch that had grown increasingly treacherous, Pakistan’s spin duo of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan delivered decisive blows after a spirited South African fightback. Dewald Brevis (54) and Ryan Rickelton (45) had steadied the innings with a 73-run partnership, but both fell before lunch to high-quality spin. Once Senuran Muthusamy was trapped LBW soon after the interval, South Africa’s resistance began to fade.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had played a supporting role for much of the Test, returned with the ageing ball to produce a devastating late burst. He found reverse swing on the worn surface, trapping Kyle Verreynne in front and then cleaning up Prenelan Subrayen and Kagiso Rabada with swinging yorkers to finish with 4 for 33. Noman Ali also claimed 4 for 79, rounding off a match haul of eight wickets that underpinned Pakistan’s success.

Pakistan’s victory was built on their strong first-innings total of 378, with captain Shan Masood and Babar Azam leading the way. South Africa’s spinners, Muthusamy (5 for 57) and Simon Harmer (4 for 51), had earlier restricted Pakistan to 167 in their second innings, but the Proteas batters had failed to chase on the deteriorating surface.

The result reaffirmed Pakistan’s home dominance and their tactic of preparing spin-friendly tracks, while handing South Africa a sobering reminder of their vulnerabilities on the sub-continent.