Pakistan captain Shan Masood was full of praise for Shaheen Afridi after an impressive performance in their Test victory against South Africa.

Afridi took four wickets during South Africa's second innings on day four as the hosts pulled off a 93-run win against the World Test Championship holders.

The seamer helped snap the Proteas' 10-match winning run in the format, while Noman Ali's spin bowling also played a crucial role.

He took his third-best career figures of 10-191 and has recorded the second-most five-wicket hauls by a Pakistan player after their first 20 Tests (nine), behind Waqar Younis' 11.

Masood was delighted with his whole bowling attack, but was particularly pleased with Afridi's display in Lahore.

"The spinners took the largest share of wickets, but Shaheen Shah Afridi was really sharp, getting the ball to reverse, and Hasan Ali also got the ball to reverse," said Masood.

"The spell today from Shaheen was very heartening. He got his pace up, got the ball to do stuff, and that's one more piece in our bowling attack.

"Historically, we've always played on such surfaces and produced fast bowlers that have gotten wickets, so we've always wanted reverse swing to be in play.

"It's very important to have our seamers with us because when you play Test cricket, it's a collective effort."

Celebration moments at the Gaddafi Stadium 

Pakistan begin their WTC cycle with a solid win #PAKvSA | #GreenPeYaqeen pic.twitter.com/Mz5RgniwiF

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 15, 2025

South Africa's hope of a comeback on day four disappeared after Dewald Brevis (54) and Ryan Rickleton (45) were removed before lunch.

Proteas skipper Aiden Markram chose to take an optimistic viewpoint after the defeat as he looked ahead to the second Test in Rawalpindi next week. 

"There was some good stuff over the few days that we played," said Markram.

"I thought there were really good signs with both bat and ball, but we have a bit to learn, and we need to clean up our game and come back better in the next match. It came down to a few small moments.

"I'm not sure what the conditions will be like in Rawalpindi. I don't think it will be too different from this. I was happy with the balance we had.

"We felt that with the two seamers and the three spinners, we had a nicely balanced team. But we'll have to get to Pindi and see what it's like."