The tourists were forced to follow-on after being bowled out for 194 in the second session of the third day in response to the home side's mammoth first innings total of 615, but made a much better fist of it with the bat second time around.

Visiting captain Shan Masood was unbeaten on 102 and Babar Azam struck 81 as the tourists went to stumps on 213-1, still trailing by a further 208 runs.

Masood and Babar took the attack to the Proteas' bowlers, who, according to Botha, went searching for wickets and fed the batters with plenty of boundary balls as the run-rate escalated to more than four runs to the over.

"We have had a very good couple of Tests where we've knocked teams over but these things we always talk about: discipline and patience," Botha told reporters after the third day's play.

"When you get frustrated and start searching like we might have done in the second innings, by bowling too straight, you start leaking runs, going at four and five runs an over and you don't want to do that.

"The goal may be instead of talking about taking wickets, is to aim for a scoring rate of three an over, then a false shot will come."

With the placid nature of the pitch having already seen more than 1 000 runs being scored in the first three days, Botha expects the surface to break up further which will allow spinner Keshav Maharaj to play a prominent role on Monday.

The left-arm tweaker returned figures of 2-14 in eight overs in the first innings while he is currently wicketless in 15 overs so far in the second innings.

"There were a couple of slow motion videos with the dust and you expect day four and five to be the days where the spinner comes into play. Already a couple have turned and also bounced," Botha said.

"The signs are there that after lunch tomorrow, Maharaj will come more and more into the game."

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