Kagiso Rabada led South Africa's fight back after being skittled out for 220 on a bowler-dominated opening day of their first Test in Pakistan for more than 13 years.
Pakistan were reduced to 33-4 at stumps on a pitch devoid of grass as 14 wickets fell on an eventful day in what is a two-Test series.
Rabada's fiery opening burst accounted for both Pakistan openers – Abid Ali and Imran Butt – while captain Babar Azam, returning from a thumb injury, was trapped lbw by slow left armer Keshav Maharaj. Rabada, playing his first Test in a year, finished with impressive figures of 6-3-8-2 in Karachi and now has 199 wickets.
Nightwatchman Shaheen Afridi was beaten for pace and bowled by Anrich Nortje to leave the hosts in some strifein the Test, the first time the Proteas have played in Pakistan since October 2007.
Earlier, leg-spinner Yasir Shah grabbed 3-54 and left-arm spinner Nauman Ali 2-38 on debut to peg back South Africa after the tourists won the toss and started confidently.
Opening batsman Dean Elgar top-scored with 58 off 106 balls with nine fours – while No 9 batsman Rabada was unbeaten on 21 – as South Africa, 94-2 at lunch, lost its last eight wickets for 112 runs.
“Definitely, I do think that South Africa had a better day, even though we had a low score,” Elgar said. “We didn’t bat well, not to our potential despite having some good preparations. Knowing that this pitch will get tougher and knowing that we have good spinners, I am confident that we can go further ahead.”
Faf du Plessis and Elgar were using their feet well against the spinners by lunch but Shah brought Pakistan back when he had du Plessis caught behind on 23 in his second over after the break. Du Plessis should have been out on 14 immediately after lunch but Abid couldn’t hold on to a sharp catch at forward short leg.
Nauman got into the act in his seventh and eighth overs, mainly because of the Proteas’ poor shot selection. Captain Quinton de Kock, in his 50th test, tried a reckless pull on 15 and was caught at midwicket, then Elgar's loose drive flew into the slips after a knock of nearly three hours, at 136-5.
“De Kock’s wicket was a big one and I am very happy with my debut,” Nauman said. “The wicket was slow and we bowled them on a low total, but unfortunately we lost four wickets. We do still have two more batters to come [Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf].”
Temba Bavuma added 43 runs with George Linde, but just before tea the diminutive Bavuma couldn’t beat a strong throw from Hasan Ali while going for a second run. Bavuma was out for 17.
Linde successfully overturned a lbw decision against him off Shah on 14 before holing out in the deep, which gave Hasan Ali his first wicket in his return to test cricket after two years.
In the last session, Shah picked up two quick wickets but Rabada was missed twice, one of them a drop.
