Pakistan's spin duo of Saeed Ajmal and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar shared 11 wickets between them to guide their team to a seven-wicket win in the first Test in Abu Dhabi, only their fourth win in 22 Tests against South Africa.
Even the pacemen Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan took four wickets apiece as a formidable South Africa batting slumped to 249 and 232 in the two innings, with only Hashim Amla (118) and AB de Villiers (90) showing some resistance.
South Africa will be hard pressed to maintain their unbeaten run in an away series since losing in Sri Lanka in 2006.
More so as Amla and Dale Steyn, respectively the world's top Test batsman and bowler, may not be available for the match. Amla has returned home for the birth of his child while Steyn is nursing a hamstring injury.
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Left-hander Dean Elgar is due to replace Amla while Rory Kleinveldt is likely to fill in for Steyn.
South African captain Graeme Smith expressed confidence his team can bounce back.