As the likes of Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder ripped through the Aussies on day one, it looked like the South African bowlers were going to enjoy the luxury of a light first-up workload and an early innings break.
Only 42 overs had been bowled when the departure of Beau Webster left the Aussies in trouble at 6-124.
Matthew Renshaw and Pat Cummins had other ideas, and when all was said and done, the Aussies had kept the Proteas in the field for 137.2 overs.
Jansen ended up bowling 31 overs, Anrich Nortje 28 and Mulder 27.
“It was sort of just thinking what we can try and do, trying to just find the right options, find a boundary if we could,” Renshaw said.
“But once they sort of started spreading that field, it was tough. It was almost trying to hit twos.
“But I knew the time that we’re spending out there, ‘Gaz’ (Nathan Lyon) was occasionally getting a nice boundary, that was the benefit for us was just keeping them out in the field, getting their quicks coming back on. We got some overs in their front-line (bowlers) in the first innings of the first game, which is always nice for this coming series.”
Renshaw faced 397 balls in his marathon knock that yielded 190 runs.
Anrich Nortje in action. Gerhard Duraan/Gallo Images/Getty Images