Pakistan seal rare win over South Africa

Abu Dhabi: Pakistan on Thursday achieved something that no team has done against world No 1 team South Africa in the last two years — a resounding seven-wicket victory with a day to spare.

What could have been a much more painful defeat for the Proteas was, however, avoided. Thanks to a resolute knock of 90 from AB de Villiers, they staved off an innings defeat.

Pakistan made heavy of chasing the modest target of 40 by losing three wickets for seven runs in the first three overs. But skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, with an unbeaten 28, and Younis Khan on nine saw them home safely in 13.5 overs.

Misbah, in fact, finished things off in style with a six into the sight screen of Robin Peterson.

Despite the blip towards the end, what stood out for Pakistan in this triumph was not just one or two individual performances, but the fact that everybody chipped in. Their opening slot woes had turned into an epidemic and needed urgent attention, and finally they seem to have found a solution in Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood.

Manzoor’s knock of 145 has shown that he has developed quicker than one expected and debutant Masood’s 75 prove that the youngster is immensely talented and has a bright future ahead of him. But, after their failure in the second inning, it is clear the duo still have a long way to go.

Misbah’s watchful ton in the first innings was a perfect example of a tactician skipper on a mission. Pacers Irfan Mohammad and Junaid Khan bowling in tandem is a lethal combination and they showed that by getting crucial breakthroughs.

And what can once say about the 34-year-old Zulfiqar Babar, who has toiled for years on the dusty grounds of Pakistan aiming for that one opportunity, and made it count with a five-wicket haul. Saeed Ajmal has always been a class act and can test the best on any surface and he showed it yesterday with figures of 32.4-7-74-4.

A standout performance from the entire team was the only way one could have beaten a champion side like South Africa, who have not lost in the last 15 outings, and Pakistan emerged as a unified force.

They therefore put an end to a two-year domination, which saw the South Africans win 10 Tests and draw five. Their last defeat came way back in 2011 against Sri Lanka in 2011.

While South Africa will be pondering what went wrong and will be looking to make the most out of the extra day in hand, Pakistan just have to build on the inspiration they have gained here going into the second Test in Dubai on October 23.

The fourth day started with night watchman Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers making a conscious effort to stay at the crease and play out the first hour. And they almost succeeded in doing so by holding their fortress tight against Irfan, Ajmal and Khan.

However, once Misbah tossed the ball to Babar, the left-arm spinner for the second time in the innings opened the floodgates almost immediately by getting rid of Steyn. And as we have seen so often, if you get one wicket, the second one follows quickly. Junaid got one to nip back sharply to trap JP Duminy leg before and South Africa slipped deeper into troubled waters with no hope in sight.

On a sorry looking scorecard, AB de Villiers was the only batsmen to make a mark. Despite wickets falling all around, De Villiers hung around and got to his 50 in style, hoisting Babar for a straight six, and the Proteas wobbled into lunch at 130 for 6, still trailing by 63.

Soon after the break, Ajmal got rid of Faf du Plessis with a brilliant return catch but De Villiers kept chipping away at the deficit and put up a defiant partnership of 57 runs for the eighth wicket and looked in line for stubborn ton under crisis.

As the hopes of a South African revival started to blossom, Junaid nipped it in the bud by getting De Villiers caught at covers by Masood.

However, by now De Villiers had done a valiant job and his 220-minute stay at the crease made sure that Pakistan would be batting once again and a humiliating innings defeat was avoided.