South Africa’s Hashim Amla has scored a fighting century but Pakistan still restricted the No.1-ranked Test team to 8-245 on the opening day of the first cricket Test.

Amla hit 13 fours in his unbeaten 118 off 250 balls as South Africa’s top order collapsed around him against pace and the lower middle-order fell to spinners.

Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar (3-89), making his debut at the age of 34, bowled 17 wicketless overs on Monday before claiming three wickets in the last session.

The 2.16-metre left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan (2-42) had struck with the new ball and reduced South Africa to 3-43 after captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat.

Amla rescued the Proteas by adding 95 runs for the fifth wicket with JP Duminy (57) before Babar struck in the last session and the visitors lost five wickets in space of 23 runs.

But Amla exhibited superb technique and temperament against both spinners and fast bowlers after he arrived at the crease in only the third over of the day at Sheikh Zayed Stadium and showed why he is rated as the No.1 Test batsman.

He raised his half century off 95 balls shortly after lunch with a pulled boundary to square leg off fast bowler Junaid Khan and brought up his 20th Test century off 201 balls by driving Babar to long off in the last session.

Duminy and Amla looked to have resurrected the innings with nearly a century stand before he swept Babar in the deep to trigger the collapse.

Duminy hit six fours and a six and should have been caught behind on 56 but Adnan Akmal dropped a sitter off Saeed Ajmal.

South Africa, which has not lost an away test series since a defeat to Sri Lanka in 2006, thrashed Pakistan 3-0 in a test series at home in February.