PAK vs SA Review | Noman Ali’s spin masterclass helps Pakistan beat Proteas by 93 runs in Lahore Test to take 1-0 lead

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first on the batting-friendly first-day surface at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. They faced an early blow at the team score of just two runs, losing opener Abdullah Shafique (2) off Kagiso Rabada in the first over of the innings. Then came a decisive and game-changing partnership of 161 runs for the second wicket between Imam-ul-Haq and skipper Shan Masood. Senuran Muthusamy broke this partnership, dismissing Masood on the third ball of the 48th over. Masood scored a crucial 76 runs off 147 balls, with nine fours and a six. Following him, Imam-ul-Haq also went back to the pavilion, at the team score of 199 runs in the 57th over, at an individual score of 93 runs off 153 balls, with seven fours and a six. Later in the innings, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha also contributed with the knocks of 75 and 93 runs, respectively. Star batter Babar Azam failed once again and he could score only 23 (48), with four fours. On the back of these contributions, Pakistan posted a total of 378 runs in the first innings. Senuran Muthusamy shone with the ball for his side, picking six wickets for 117 runs in his 32 overs, including six maiden overs. Apart from him, Prenelan Subrayen also scalped two wickets, alongside a wicket each picked by Kagiso Rabada and Simon Harmer.

In response to Pakistan’s 378-run total, South Africa were bundled out at the score of 269 runs, with Ryan Rickelton scoring 71 (137). His knock was followed by Tony de Zorzi’s brilliant century, scoring 104 runs off 171 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes. Apart from these two, it was only the skipper Aiden Markram (20) who played a double-digit knock of 20 runs. The veteran spinner Noman Ali was the star performer with the ball for his side, picking six wickets for 112 runs in 35 overs, including three maiden overs. His spin fellow Sajid Khan also picked three wickets for just 98 runs in 33 overs, including two maiden overs. Besides Noman and Sajid, Salman Agha also bagged a wicket for 21 runs in seven overs, with two maiden overs.

In the second innings, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq (0) early at the team score of just two runs in 1.4 overs. After an addition of just 31 runs, they lost Shan Masood (7), when the team’s score was just 33 runs in 9.2 overs. Then came another partnership of 31 runs for the third wicket between Abdullah Shafique and former skipper Babar Azam. Shafique scored 41 runs off 43 balls, with six fours, followed by Babar’s 42 (72). Furthermore, Saud Shakeel’s 38 (53) and Mohammad Rizwan's (14) helped the hosts score 167 runs to take their lead to 276 runs and post a tough target for the Proteas. Senuran Muthusamy took another five-wicket haul in the same, as he picked five wickets for just 57 runs in his 17 overs in the second innings, with crucial support from Simon Harmer, who claimed four wickets for just 51 runs in 14.1 overs. Kagiso Rabada also picked a wicket for 33 runs in his 10 overs.

While chasing the target, South Africa couldn’t crack the spin of Pakistan’s star duo of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, alongside pace support from Shaheen Shah Afridi. Ryan Rickelton scored 45 runs off 145 balls, with four fours, followed by Dewald Brevis’ 54-run knock amidst a batting collapse for the visitors during the run-chase. Besides these two, Tony de Zorzi (16), Kyle Verreynne (19), and Simon Harmer (14) were the only batters to play a double-digit knock. Eventually, the Proteas were bundled out at the score of just 183 runs in 60.5 overs while chasing a target of 277 runs in the second innings. Noman Ali and Shaheen Afridi scalped four wickets, alongside two wickets picked by Sajid Khan, to help the hosts register a big 93-run win in the first Test.

The veteran Pakistan spinner Noman Ali won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his sensational bowling performance throughout the entire match. He claimed a total of 10 wickets in the game, with 6/112 in the first innings, followed by 4/79 in the second innings. His outstanding bowling performance played a vital role in Pakistan’s 93-run win to claim a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.