'Hurting' Smith says Proteas were 'stressed' over playing in 'sub-continent' before Test loss

South African captain Graeme Smith has admitted that his side was 'hurting' due to their seven-wicket loss to Pakistan in the first Test at Abu Dhabi and said that they were stressed despite going as the world's number one-ranked Test team.

South Africa's unbeaten run of 15 Test matches over almost two years came to an end on Thursday after Pakistan chased down a 40-run target having dominated the tourists from the start of the match at the Sheikh Zayed stadium.

According to The Dawn, Smith said that his side was hurting after their loss as even though winning and losing are a part of the game, they have set very high standards for themselves.

However, Smith backed his team to bounce back from their loss as they have too much ability to make the defeat a habit, adding that the players have worked extremely hard and always knew that this would be a tough tour after a long layoff.

According to Smith, his side was stressed like every international team whenever they come to play in the sub-continent.

South Africa's last Test was in February when they wrapped up a 3-0 home series win over Pakistan, the report added.