Aiden Markram's bold response to a bouncer-laden baptism of fire has forced Australia to come up with some new plans for South Africa's young opener.
The recent series opener in Durban was Markram's seventh Test overall, but his first match in any format against Steve Smith's side.
The 23-year-old last month captained the Proteas in just the third ODI of his career, reflecting how highly Markram is rated in his homeland.
If Australia didn't understand why before the first Test, they certainly do now.
Markram was responsible for a terrible mix-up with teammate AB de Villiers at Kingsmead that led to his partner being run out for a duck.
David Warner let the right-hander know all about his error, unleashing a withering spray.
Markram regained composure and showed remarkable grit, scoring 143 as South Africa briefly threatened to reel in a target of 417.
The batsman weathered a couple of nasty blows from Australia's star pacemen, but it failed to stop him scoring freely.
"He's a fine young player. A very good hundred against a quality attack," Australia coach Darren Lehmann said.
"We've got to look at how we bowl to him.
"The first innings we thought the short ball was a real weapon for us.
"We still think that's the case, but we'll come up with a few different plans for him moving forward in PE."
Smith and his South African counterpart Faf du Plessis were among the many players full of praise for Markram.
"The run out between him and AB would have been weighing on his mind, and Australia were trying to put pressure on him about it," the Proteas captain said.
"To get through that says a lot about a young guy, the belief that he has in himself.
"We know the talent that he has as a batsman and it was great to see him score a terrific Test hundred."
The second Test starts in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
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