LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Opener Imam-ul-Haq missed out on his comeback test century as Pakistan recovered well from a brief collapse on an abrasive wicket to reach 313-5 against world champion South Africa in the first test on Sunday.

Imam played a fluent knock of 93 in his first test match after almost two years and together with captain Shan Masood, who made 76, gave Pakistan a strong start to its new World Test Championship cycle with a 161-run second-wicket stand.

The three South African spinners toiled hard but caught a break when they claimed three quick wickets without a run before Mohammad Rizwan (62 no) and Salman Ali Agha (52 no) struck unbeaten half-centuries and gave Pakistan an early edge against the defending world test champion.

Both batters dominated the spinners with the

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