Daijiworld Media Network

Abu Dhabi, Oct 17 : Pakistan beat No 1 ranking Test team South Africa in nuetral venue UAE's capital Abu Dhabi in the first game.

There was little panic when Pakistan were down three wickets for 7 when they started chasing mere 45 runs. But Captain Misbah sails the team succesfully.

This Pakistan team is as unpredictable as any. They just lost a Test to Zimbabwe and here they are beating the No.1 Test team. It was an all-round team effort as all the bowlers were among wickets and most of their batsmen got the runs. As for South Africa, this is their first loss in 15 Tests. Their last loss was against Sri Lanka in Durban in 2011, it was the Boxing day Test match. They did not bat well in both the innings, apart from Amla and de Villiers rest of the batting struggled. The bowlers did not give them a good start but came back well to bowl Pakistan out for 442. The bowlers started off well in the second innings but did not have enough runs to defend.

Pakistan have dominated the match and have taken a 1-0 lead in the two match Test series. They were sent in to field and the bowlers did a good job by restricting South Africa for 249. Then their openers came in and got them off to a good start by adding 135 runs. Manzoor and Misbah played brilliantly as both of them got to their respective hundreds. They got a lead of 193 runs. The bowlers responded again by bowling them out for 232 and just needed 40 runs in their second innings. They had some hiccups when they lost three quick wickets but the veterans saw them through.

South Africa are going into the second Test trailing 1-0 after a long time, they last lost the first Test of a series in the home series against England in 2009.

Pakistan are currently in 6th place in the ICC Test rankings. If they win or draw the second Test, then they will move up to 4th place. If they lose, they will move to 5th place. South Africa will remain No. 1 even if they lose.

Pakistan were delighted with this victory. All the players jumped up as soon as Misbah hit the winning runs. They should be proud of this win as nobody expected them to give a fight to the best Test team let alone win. Their skipper led them from the front as he scored a brilliant 100 and marshalled his troops well on the field. He has come under a lot of criticism but this win should silence those critics as well.

Speaking at presentation ceremoney, Misbah said that  'It's really unbelievable. Much needed win for us. The youngsters (Khurram and Masood), Zulfiqar Babar came in and did tremendously. It was a very good effort in the first innings, both batting and bowling. We know that in these conditions as the time goes on, it is really difficult to score runs. Today the ball was not coming on to the bat. It was turning. When we got them out under 250, we thought if we batted well and took the lead it will be crucial. We got the result what we wanted. That was a much needed 100 for me. My last 100 came in 2011. I was missing a lot in ODIs and Tests. It has come against the No. 1 side and also when the team really needed it. The conditions are pretty much the same in Dubai. There might be a little more spin and bounce. They (South Africa) have played there as well. It will be conditions that suit us. They will come back strongly. I would like to thank the crowd that came out to support us. It really felt like playing at home.

Manzoor: 'I was a bit tense during the match but I'm happy overall. I worked a lot with my coach, Rashid Latif. I wanted to perform in domestic cricket. I worked on my fitness and I believed it will pay off. We (Me and Masood) have played a lot of cricket together in domestic cricket. I was confident and I was confident looking at him. He (Shan Masood) came up and said a few mistakes that I was doing. I was very happy and very comfortable.'

Manzoor is the Man of the match for his 146 in the first innings

Smith: 'Obviously extremely disappointed. We just have not matched up in the last 4 days. Credit to Misbah and his team. They've been ahead of the game. The first morning was a difficult time to bat. We still did well. Again I don't think we were bad. Obviously there are a few guys who have not performed to the level we have expected. We need to bounce back. We need to see conditions in Dubai and see how it goes there. Amla is the most consistent batsman in the world. He's a got a big moment. We wish him all the best (he is talking about the impending birth of his child).'