JOHANNESBURG, 17 December 2003 — Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini took crucial wickets as South Africa maintained a perfect home winning record against the West Indies with a 189-run victory on the final day of the first Test at the Wanderers Stadium yesterday.

Pollock dismissed Ramnaresh Sarwan and West Indian captain Brian Lara in the first half hour of the day and followed up by having top-scorer Shivnarine Chanderpaul caught at fine leg. He claimed the final wicket by having Corey Collymore leg before wicket as the tourists were bowled out for 188 — 71 minutes after lunch.

Pollock took his four wickets for 31 runs.

Ntini, who took the first three wickets Monday evening, took one more wicket yesterday to finish with four for 53. He had match figures of nine for 147. South Africa’s win in the first match of a four-Test series gave them six wins in six Tests against the West Indies in South Africa, following a 5-0 sweep in 1998 99. The West Indies were in dire trouble overnight after Ntini reduced them to 31 for three Monday evening.

Their fate was sealed when Pollock trapped Ramnaresh Sarwan leg before wicket in the fifth over yesterday with a ball which kept low and followed up in his next over by bowling Lara, who made a double century in the first innings, for five. The tourists were 43 for five.

Chanderpaul and Ridley Jacobs put on 98 for the sixth wicket, a record for the West Indies against South Africa, before Jacobs was bowled by Andre Nel for 25 in the third over after lunch. With South African captain Graeme Smith setting attacking fields, with as many as six fielders in the slip cordon, Chanderpaul scored briskly to reach his half-century off 63 balls. He made 74 off 91 deliveries with 13 fours before he hooked Pollock to Nel at fine leg.

Chris Gayle, barely able to walk because of a left hamstring injury he suffered in the field in the first innings, slogged and edged six fours in an innings of 26 before he was caught behind off Nel, making a South African win inevitable on a fifth successive hot, sunny day. South Africa’s win was set up by a first innings total of 561 in which Smith and Jacques Kallis made centuries. Lara hit 202 for the West Indies but they were bowled out for 210, largely through the efforts of Ntini, who took five for 94.

It gave South Africa enough time to hurry to 226 for six in their second innings before setting the West Indies an unlikely target of 468 to win.