De Villiers celebrates after reaching three figures

Centuries from Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers and four wickets for Makhaya Ntini gave South Africa a 45-run win in the Lahore day-nighter.

In the first of a series of five one-day internationals, Pakistan allowed the tourists to rack up 294-5 before being bowled out in 46.3 overs.

Gibbs (102) shared 85 with Graeme Smith and 137 with De Villiers, who made an unbeaten 103 despite some late cramp.

Ntini (4-69) then made Pakistan suffer with some well-directed short bowling.

He struck in his second over when Justin Kemp clung onto a brilliant catch at short extra-cover to end Imran Nazir's innings.

We know Afridi is dangerous and it surprised us they left him so late Graeme Smith

And once three more batsmen had played limp shots off Ntini to provide far easier catches the score was 55-4 in the 12th over, Pakistan were always going to struggle.

Things gradually subsided further - despite Mohammad Yousuf's 53 - and Pakistan needed 123 from the last 12 overs with just three wickets in hand.

They should not have got anywhere near it, but some spirited striking from Shahid Afridi (47 from 26 balls) gave the crowd something to cheer.

Earlier, the tourists, having triumphed 1-0 in the Tests, had batted confidently on a pitch with more life in it for the bowlers than one would expect at the Gaddafi Staidum.

Kemp and Ntini combined brilliantly to dismiss Nazir

Smith and Gibbs played the bowling so well they had to be run out, and De Villiers produced a magnificently well-paced innings.

The debut of Sohail Tanvir, the 22-year-old left-arm seamer who played well in the ICC World Twenty20, would not have passed unnoticed.

He bowled intelligently with the new ball, then trapped Kemp lbw, before being suffering at the hands of De Villiers late on.

And with the bat, Tanvir struck 26 in an entertaining stand of 43 from just 25 balls.

Smith said afterwards that he was surprised Afridi had batted at eight when the game was all but up.

The man coming in at seven, Kamran Akmal, laboured to make 35 off 55 balls.

And Smith said: "We know Afridi is dangerous and it surprised us they left him so late.

"The game was a long way out of reach when he came in.