Despite the variable nature of the pitch at Centurion causing problems to batsmen from both sides, Faf du Plessis aims to keep pushing the South African pitch curators to prepare seam friendly wickets. This has to do with the potency of his bowling attack, dominated by pacers, that has the best bowling average of 23.03 this year.

Pakistan, though a fragile batting unit, were rolled out for scores under 200 as South Africa completed their 10th victory against them on the home soil well inside three days to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. But, the course of their victory was not as sweet as it may sound. They were four down for 43 in their first innings and had to bare arguably the toughest phase when they came out to chase 149 on the start of day three.

Aiden Markam was out second ball of the second over. Soon, he would have been joined by Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla had a controversial umpiring decision gone Pakistan's way or Fakhar Zaman grabbed a regulation catch. Before the ball went soft, the South African batsmen often struggled to feel the ball on their bats, leading to numerous plays and misses.

"Fortune was on our side," recalled Elgar after knitting a match-winning 119-run stand with Amla. Of all the batsmen, the left-handed opener bore the brunt the most. He was hit all over his body, especially the front arm. It started with a Mohammad Amir fuller length delivery rising sharply, after hitting a crack, which hit the middle of his arm as he lunged forward to defend it. He even got hit by a rising delivery of a non-regular seamer Shan Masood.

"I might have an armguard for the next game. We'll just have to see what the wicket's going to play like. But it's ok. I've been hit there many a time in my career, and it's never pleasant. I know the guys in the changeroom appreciate the work I do, and that makes it heal a little easier. And it's always nice to ice it with a nice cold beer knowing that we've won the game.

"I think I make it look a lot tougher. I think I give the bowlers a lot of false hope, and they're like 'I'm in here with Elgar, I can get him out'. Obviously I proved them wrong. But it was tough. Pakistan have really brought some very good seamers. It was hard work. It was right up there as another tough but satisfying and successful day for us. But yeah, it could be a lot easier for us if we go with better batting wickets, which I doubt is going to happen."

The doubt was removed by his captain who termed seam-friendly wickets to be an integral ingredient for South Africa's wins at home. "As a batting unit, we understand that home conditions are not perfect for batting," Faf said.

"The wickets that we want to play on are the ones that assist our seam bowling attack. We have the best seam bowling attack, statistically, in the world. It would be stupid to not to make the use of that. So, if that makes our lives, the batters, a little bit tougher and as long as we are winning matches, I will be smiling at the end. We joke about it all the time that you rather be wanting to bat as an opening batsman in Australia as Dean [Elgar] would often say. But for me it is about winning matches. So we are preparing wickets that are not flat, but the ones which will assist seamers."

Though, the variable bounce of the pitch remained a permanent feature, the pitch did change its behaviour and was beginning to become good for batting, reckoned the home side captain. "Pakistan batted brilliantly in the second innings. They were 100 for 1 and we expected them to set us a higher target than they did with the pitch becoming good for batting. The seam movement did go away. This morning it was overcast. There was rain last night which made the moisture come back up again. We were back to almost day one pitch. So, a lot of different things have happened to this pitch over the course of the match. And, this is what you want in Test cricket: to play in different stages and adapt to them."

Ironically, it was Faf from the South African lineup who failed to adjust. He made to the record books along with Sarfraz Ahmed as both captains bagged pairs. "Fantastic Test match! Certainly it will go down as my one of the best," he joked, when asked to reflect on it. "In the first innings, the ball bounced a bit. Thankfully, Theunis [de Bruyn] gave me the opportunity to make sure I get a pair. Thankfully, it is a part of a record. So as long as I am breaking records I am happy."