The Proteas triumphed by two wickets in a Boxing Day classic, the two sides trading blows throughout before a counter-attack from Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen took the hosts to victory.

The pair joined forces after South Africa had lost four wickets for three runs, sliding to 99-8, still 49 runs shy of their 148-run target. Mohammad Abbas, playing his first Test in more than three years, was the wrecker-in-chief, taking six wickets and bowling unchanged throughout the innings.

Rabada and Jansen looked unperturbed by the scale of the task, the challenging conditions, and the history that would come with victory, with the former particularly aggressive. He hit five boundaries in his 26-ball 31 not out, with Jansen adding 16 off 24, including the winning boundary, steered behind point.

Jansen had earlier taken six second-innings wickets to keep the target within reach, before a top-order collapse had South Africa reeling at 19-3. Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma rebuilt steadily, but the latter’s wicket - choosing not to review a caught behind decision despite replays revealing the ball had clipped his pocket - opened the door for Pakistan, before Rabada slammed it shut.

Markram was Player of the Match for his first-innings 87, to go with his second-innings contribution. Corbin Bosch and Dane Paterson also chipped in five and six wickets in the game respectively, with Bosch, on debut, also adding a belligerent, unbeaten 81 in the first innings to stretch South Africa’s lead close to three figures. For Pakistan, the wickets were shared between the seamers, with Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam and Saud Shakeel each making half-centuries.

The win boosts South Africa’s points percentage to 66.67. Even if they lose the second Test against Pakistan, their points percentage will drop only to 61.11, out of reach of every other side in the World Test Championship table bar Australia, meaning a top two finish is guaranteed.

Still searching for a world title, the Proteas’ celebrations were jubilant, and guaranteed to continue long into the evening. As captain Bavuma put it in the post-match presentation: “It’s a bad day to be a beer.”

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