Du Plessis: 'Our character is our strongest asset'

"Serious character." That was Faf du Plessis's assessment of South Africa's performance in the second Test after the home side romped to a six-wicket win against Australia. Telling contributions from AB de Villiers and the Player of the Match, Kagiso Rabada – and a gutsy partnership between Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla to set up AB's first-innings assault – were the standout turns in an impressive all-round team performance.

"I thought we played a really good brand of cricket in this game," he said. "There were periods during which we absorbed the pressure very well. My mind goes back to the first-innings partnership between Dean [Elgar] and Hashim [Amla] and it just needed for the two of them to absorb the pressure a little bit, while the Australian bowlers’ tanks got a little bit lower, and then if you’ve got a player like AB de Villiers in your side, you can put that pressure back onto them.

"Pretty much for the whole game we’ve been in a position of strength, whose bodes well for the rest of the series.”

Perhaps the only time in the game when South Africa were on the ropes came on the first morning. "The first hour was brilliant, we bowled really well. But then we had a 45-minute spell when we went to the beach for a little bit! And then we came back brilliantly.

"Every time this team gets challenged it shows its character. That’s our strongest asset."

There were no complaints from his opposite number, Steve Smith's blunt assessment that Australia were "outplayed in every aspect" issued as a rallying cry to his troops before the teams meet again on March 22 at Newlands, Cape Town. "We weren’t too far away – probably 75 runs shy in the first innings and 50 in the second – and then it might have been a different ball game. But we were certainly outplayed.”

Smith was in no doubt where the match was won and lost: AB de Villiers, whose 154 runs for once out in the match put him on a different plane to the rest of the batsmen.. "“AB was obviously unbelievable and was the big difference between the two sides," said Smith, and he pinpointed the third morning, and AB's masterful 126* having resumed that morning on 74, as the moment when the game slipped away.

"We went into that session needing three wickets in the morning session, we were hoping to pick them up quickly and leave them with a lead only of about 50-odd. As it was, 140 was a lot, and we were going to have to bat extremely well to give ourselves something to bowl at. Unfortunately we couldn’t get as many as we’d have liked."

Smith was encouraged by the fight showed by Australia on the fourth morning, despite coming up short. "I thought the bowlers came out really well this morning. The boys were able to take a few wickets there and we got AB out conventionally for the first time in the series, which is nice! It gives Gaz [Nathan Lyon] a little bit of confidence [to have removed AB]. We fought right until the end but we weren’t quite good enough.

"One-all at the halfway point, so it makes for an exciting rest of the series."

Rabada, whom Smith conceded had bowled "exceptionally well" throughout the match for his 11 wickets – his fourth 10-wicket haul in just 28 Tests – was deservedly Player of the Match, but his participation in the rest of the series is now in question after a second disciplinary charge issued in the match.

“It’s disappointing for the series," said du Plessis, when drawn on the prospect of Rabada being suspended. "You want your best players playing in the series. We’ll still challenge that to try and make sure he still plays a part in the series. It's important for the game that your best players play."