South Africa Tour of Pakistan Tests 2021: Pakistan Win 2-0 (First Series Win Over SA in 18 Years) — Rizwan Player of Series, Fawad Alam 109, Nauman Ali Debut 5/35, Hasan Ali 11/114 Match Haul, Nortje Five-For

Pakistan won both Tests of South Africa's January-February 2021 tour of Pakistan by 2-0 — played in COVID bio-secure bubbles at Karachi and Rawalpindi with no spectators. The result was Pakistan's first Test series win over South Africa since 2003 — a gap of 18 years. Mohammad Rizwan was Player of the Series. 1st Test National Stadium, Karachi (January 26-29, 2021): Pakistan won by 7 wickets — SA 220 & 245; PAK 378 & 90/3. Fawad Alam scored 109 in Pakistan's 1st innings (Player of the Match). Nauman Ali — a left-arm orthodox spinner — took 5/35 in South Africa's 2nd innings on his Test debut, becoming one of the very few bowlers to take a debut five-wicket haul against a full-strength Test nation in the 21st century. Yasir Shah also contributed 4 wickets in South Africa's 2nd innings as the spinners shared the bowling load. Pakistan knocked off the required target without losing many wickets, completing a 7-wicket win in Karachi. 2nd Test Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (February 4-8, 2021): Pakistan won by 95 runs — PAK 272 & 298; SA 201 & 274. Hasan Ali took 11/114 across the match — a ten-wicket match haul — and was Player of the Match. His 12 wickets across the series made him Pakistan's leading wicket-taker in the 2-match series. Anrich Nortje took a five-wicket haul in Pakistan's 1st innings — one of the better pace bowling performances of the match for South Africa. Despite Nortje's five-for, Pakistan's lead on 1st innings and Hasan Ali's dismissals in South Africa's 2nd innings gave Pakistan a 95-run winning margin. South Africa's tour of Pakistan — one of the earliest post-pandemic Test tours of the country — was conducted entirely in bio-bubble conditions, with the squad entering isolation before flying out.

Nauman Ali: Test Debut Five-Wicket Haul at Karachi

Nauman Ali's 5/35 in South Africa's 2nd innings at Karachi — on his Test debut — was the headline bowling performance of the 1st Test. Left-arm orthodox spin at Karachi's National Stadium gave Nauman considerable turn, and South Africa's middle order, unfamiliar with the conditions and coming off a period of limited red-ball cricket, were unable to handle the variations. A debut five-wicket haul against a Test-playing nation remains one of the rarer achievements in Test cricket, and Nauman's immediate effectiveness — combined with Yasir Shah's 4 wickets in the same innings — meant Pakistan's spin attack demolished South Africa for 245 in the 2nd innings. Fawad Alam's 109 — part of a Pakistan 1st-innings 378 that built the match-controlling lead — was the batting counterpart to Nauman's bowling on a match where Pakistan were dominant across both disciplines.

Hasan Ali's 11-Wicket Match Haul at Rawalpindi

Hasan Ali's 11/114 match figures at Rawalpindi — 5 or 6 wickets in one innings and the remainder in the other — was the decisive bowling performance of the 2nd Test and secured both the match and the series 2-0. Hasan's ability to extract movement and reverse swing from Rawalpindi's surface (a venue that typically offers more to seamers than Karachi) saw him dismissed South Africa twice at critical moments in their pursuit of 370. South Africa's 274 in their 2nd innings — 95 runs short of the target — fell away once Hasan Ali struck repeatedly through their middle and lower order. Anrich Nortje's five-wicket haul in Pakistan's 1st innings confirmed South Africa's pace attack was competitive in the conditions, but could not offset the batting deficit that allowed Pakistan to set an unchaseable target. Pakistan's 2-0 series win — their first over South Africa since they had beaten them in Pakistan in the 2002-03 series — was celebrated as a significant result for Pakistan's return to hosting Test cricket.