Nauman Ali made a memorable debut for Pakistan as he picked seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings, to power his side to a seven-wicket win over South Africa on day four of the first Test here at the National Stadium on Friday.
With this win, Pakistan has taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Chasing the target of 88, Pakistan openers Imran Butt and Abid Ali gave the home team a good start. Both the batsmen avoided risky shots as the team was not chasing a huge target. However, Anrich Nortje came out all guns blazing in the eighth over, removing both Abid (10) and Butt (12).
Azhar Ali and skipper Babar Azam then joined hands in the middle. Both played brilliantly, scoring regular boundaries but with the team just two runs away, Keshav Maharaj dismissed Babar (30) in the 23rd over. Fawad Alam then came out and hit a boundary to take Pakistan over the line.
Earlier, resuming the second innings on 187/4, South Africa got off to a very poor start on day four as Hasan Ali dismissed Maharaj. Quinton de Kock was then joined by Temba Bavuma but their partnership also did not last long as Yasir Shah got hold of the former.
Pakistan bowlers kept taking wickets in regular intervals. Bavuma (40) was then given LBW off Nauman’s delivery which brought South Africa’s second innings to an end, setting a target of 88 runs for the hosts.
Nauman picked five wickets in the second innings while Yasir scalped four wickets. Moreover, owing to his amazing performance, Nauman had his name written in the history books.
“1st Pakistani left-arm spinner to take five-wicket haul on Test debut. 4th Pakistani spinner to take five-wicket haul on Test debut. 12th Pakistani to take five-wicket haul on Test debut. Ladies and gentlemen — Nauman Ali for you!” PCB tweeted.
Brief Scores: South Africa 220 and 245 (Aiden Markram 74; Nauman Ali 5/35); Pakistan 378 and 90/3 (Azhar Ali 31*; Anrich Nortje 2/24)