What should have been a day of strength for South Africa still ended with some honours, even as the West Indies fought back to contain their hosts on the first day of the second Test at the Wanderers on Wednesday.
South Africa finished the day on 311/7, a far cry from the powerful 247/2 at tea that should have allowed SA to power themselves to an imposing first-day total.
They had 50s from Aiden Markram (96) and Tony de Zorzi (85) to fall back on, but they didn't carry the three-figure weight that would have allowed the hosts to sleep easy.
Having won the toss and choosing to bat first on a decently-grassed dry strip - with the exception of a bare patch at the Golf Course end that explained why SA's Test coach, Shukri Conrad, chose two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer - SA held all the cards at a ground that is notoriously difficult to chase on.
The pitch, while it had true bounce and decent pace, lacked the venom that has made batting at the Wanderers a difficult occupation. It was an advantage that should have been drilled home, but the Proteas didn't.
SA batted well enough for stretches of the first day to make the most of the unusual placidness, but they gave up the ghost again in the evening session.
In what seemed to be a repeat of the first evening of the first Test, South Africa took the game by the scruff of the neck in the first two sessions before allowing the West Indies back in.
The Windies only had two wickets to show for their efforts on the first morning and afternoon before finding last week's bowling gear that preyed on SA's inconsistencies to snare five wickets.
South Africa's top four of Dean Elgar (42), Markram (96), De Zorzi (85), and Temba Bavuma (28) could have and should converted their runs into something significant.
Gudakesh Motie, the highly-rated left-arm spinner from Guyana, who came in as a replacement for Shannon Gabriel, was gifted wickets by Elgar and Markram, but he worked hard to claim De Zorzi's scalp.
Elgar, in particular, batted with a high degree of fluency at the ground where his past two highest Test scores featured - 96* against India in December 2021 and 127 against Sri Lanka early in 2021.
It came as a surprise when, after facing two balls in an over, he then decided to play an ill-advised sweep shot off Motie (3/75) that was caught by Roston Chase at short fine leg to break the opening stand of 76.
That South Africa scored 133 runs in the first morning and 116 in the second spoke to how easy conditions were playing for the batters.
The West Indies simply couldn't find a line and length shoebox outside off-stump to trouble South Africans.
Markram was untroubled for the better part of his knock, which is why the manner in which he relinquished his wicket to Motie was rather problematic.
Where he could have been patient and waited for the bad ball to come, he chose to play a lap sweep off Motie that Jermaine Blackwoood, who was fielding at slip, telegraphed and caught at leg slip to end what could have been a convincing 100.
Markram's front and back foot play was imperious and was hardly beaten outside off-stump. It was an inning stacked with positive intent that should have delivered more than what it eventually produced.
It was the fourth time that Markram was dismissed in the 90s and, with the way he enjoyed himself in the middle, he will have missed out on an opportunity to fill his boots.
The same was applicable for De Zorzi, who also had to watch his captain, Bavuma, shoulder arms to a low in-ducker from Jason Holder that hit the bald spot at the Golf Course end of the pitch.
Bavuma avoided a third consecutive duck and while he looked in control, he played with unnecessary circumspection.
He fell 15 balls after tea, allowing the West Indies a foothold that first allowed them to drag back the run rate before dealing in the business of taking wickets.
Ryan Rickelton (22) also showed a smidgeon of fluency, but he also wasted a start when he wafted at a wide Alzarri Joseph (1/59) delivery that could have been left alone.
However, his dismissal was not as deflating as that of De Zorzi, who measured himself well with the bat with fewer nerves and better judgment outside off-stump.
He was also impartial to punishing the bad ball, but he fell to the one time that the Windies, through Motie, built a spot of sustained pressure that forced De Zorzi to cave in when he was bowled by an arm ball.
De Zorzi's dismissal was so comprehensive, he'd nicked the ball on the way to the stumps, ending what looked like a coming-of-age innings in his second Test.
That forced the normally attacking duo of Heinrich Klaasen and Wiaan Mulder (12) to bat conservatively. The latter wasn't able to see out the day as he was castled by Kyle Mayers (2/24), who then later removed Simon Harmer to give the Windies a share of the day's spoils.
Scores in brief:
South Africa: 311/7 (Aiden Markram 96, Tony de Zorzi 85, Dean Elgar 42, Temba Bavuma 28, Gudakesh Motie 3/75, Kyle Mayers 2/24, Jason Holder 1/39)