Smith was denied a 12th Test century by a fine diving catch

"The pitch deteriorated more than we expected," said Smith, who still managed 94 on day three at Newlands.

Asked if he had previously experienced a South African pitch like the one prepared for this match he said: "Never ever and hopefully never again.

"We went into a sub-continent frame of mind and it was like batting in India."

Counterpart Rahul Dravid agreed that it was a surprising type of surface for a Test match in South Africa.

"You don't expect this sort of surface here, it was quite slow and it turned," he said. "It's the first time I've seen a surface like this in South Africa.

"But that's the advantage of having a good, all round attack, you can force the opposition into playing in conditions not ideally suited to them."

Dravid was pleased with his team's performance and added: "To bowl 90 overs and restrict them to 229 runs and take nine wickets was a good effort. The boys worked really hard.

"We're happy to be bowling fourth. It is a great advantage."