Abrar Ahmed and Naseem Shah spearheaded Pakistan's bowling attack as South Africa were bowled out for 263 despite half-centuries from Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius in the first one-day international at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium on Tuesday.
South Africa made an impressive start, with De Kock and Pretorius adding a 98-run opening stand. Pakistani bowlers initially struggled to break the partnership, as both openers maintained a steady scoring rate.
Pretorius, the 19-year-old left-hander, impressed with a fluent 57 off 60 balls, hitting seven boundaries and a six, before being dismissed by Saim Ayub.
With the visitors 98-1, De Kock was joined by Tony de Zorzi, and the pair added 43 runs before Pakistan struck twice in quick succession.
De Kock (63) was bowled by Naseem Shah, while de Zorzi (18) was caught and bowled by Saim, leaving South Africa 147-3 in the 27th over.
Captain Matthew Breetzke and Sinethemba Qeshile (22) steadied the innings with a 44-run partnership, but Mohammad Nawaz removed Qeshile, and Abrar Ahmed later dismissed Donovan Ferreira (3) as the visitors reached 202-5.
South Africa then suffered a key moment when Naseem Shah overstepped after bowling Breetzke, denying Pakistan a breakthrough. Naseem, however, removed George Linde (2) in the same over to make it 209-6.
At 228-6, Abrar struck twice in two deliveries, removing Breetzke (42) and Bjorn Fortuin (0). He nearly completed a hat-trick when Lungi Ngidi survived an LBW review after being given out.
Corbin Bosch (41) contributed crucial runs alongside the tail-enders, guiding South Africa past the 260-run mark. He was eventually bowled by Shaheen Afridi in the second last over.
Lizaad Williams was the last man to be dismissed by Naseem as South Africa set a 264-run target for Pakistan.
For Pakistan, Abrar and Naseem finished with 3 wickets, while Saim claimed 2.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Hussain Talat, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi (c), Naseem Shah, and Abrar Ahmed.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke (c), Sinethemba Qeshile, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, and Lizaad Williams.