PAK vs SA 1st ODI: Naseem Shah, Salman And Rizwan Star In Pakistan's 2-wicket Victory, Hosts Go 1-0 Up In Series

Pakistan vs South Africa 1st ODI Result: Pakistan defeated South Africa by 2 wickets in the first ODI match at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Wednesday. They have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series as the Men in Green register their first win under new skipper Shaheen Afridi.

This is the fifth successive win for Pakistan against South Africa in ODIs. They chased down the 264-run target in 49.4 overs with Naseem Shah hitting the winning run. This is the highest successful chase at Faisalabad in ODIs. Salman Ali Agha was adjudged the Player of the match.

"It was on me, I could've finished the game. Was expecting dew today because that's been the case right through in the T20s we've played here. Without dew, it was tough. It was turning and reversing. That partnership (between Rizwan and him) made us chase this down. We lost 2-3 quick wickets and just wanted to build a partnership. We knew we had enough time. Just wanted to play the ball on merit. Just communicated with each other on who will take charge when we need runs," Salman said at the post-match presentation.

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After opting to bowl first, Pakistan bowled the Proteas out for 263 runs in 49.1 overs. Quinton de Kock was the top run-getter for the visitors, having played an impressive knock of 63 runs in 71 balls, whereas Lhuan-de Pretorius produced a contribution of 57 runs.

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For Pakistan, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed picked up three wickets each while Saim Ayub found a couple of scalps as well.

The hosts were off to a magnificent start in the run chase as Fakhar Zaman (45) and Saim Ayub (39) stitched an 87-run opening stand. The first breakthrough was provided by Donovan Ferreira as he dismissed Ayub in the 16th over. The hosts lost a couple of quick wickets with senior batter Babar Azam (7) registering another failure with the bat.

Mohammaz Rizwan and Salman Agha came up with the recover with a 91-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Both the batters smashed their respective fifties. Agha was the top run-getter for his team, whereas Mohammad Rizwan scored 55 runs in 74 balls on the back of six boundaries.

They lost a few wickets in quick succession to allow South Africa to bounce back in the contest. However, the lower order did enough to take the hosts over the line. Lungi Ngidi, Ferreira and Corbin Bosch took two wickets each.