South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against Pakistan with a six-wicket win in the first Test at Centurion.

Chasing a paltry target of 149 for victory on day three, the Proteas romped to a comfortable win following half-centuries from Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla.

The Pakistan bowlers started strongly on day three with Hasan Ali dismissing opener Aiden Markram for a duck. The Pakistan pacer then saw Fakhar Zaman drop a sharp chance off Hashim Amla at third slip as South Africa breathed a sigh of relief.

The tourists then thought they had captured a second wicket when Dean Elgar knicked a Shaheen Afridi delivery towards the slip cordon. A tumbling Azhar Ali claimed the catch at second slip with the on-field umpires referring the decision to the television umpire.

Despite the soft signal being out, the decision was overturned much to the dismay of Pakistan’s fielders.

From then on, Amla and Elgar made the most of their reprieves as they stitched together a 119-run stand for the second wicket. Both the batsmen had their moments of luck on a spicy pitch but their respective half-centuries ensured a comfortable chase for the hosts.

By the time Elgar was dismissed for 50 by the part-time spin of Shan Masood, the match had already veered towards its inevitable conclusion.

The visitors did manage to pick up two more wickets in the form of Theunis de Bruyn and South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis but it wasn’t enough as the Proteas completed victory with six wickets to spare in the end.

The two sides will now meet in the second Test of the series which gets underway on January 3 at Newlands, Cape Town.

BRIEF SCORES

Pakistan: 181 and 190

South Africa: 223 and 151-4

Hashim Amla: 63 not out

Dean Elgar: 50