Proteas' Christchurch resurgence: 'Hopefully it speaks to our character'

Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen hopes their continued fightback in the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch speaks to their ability to bounce back from dire situations.

South Africa ended the third day on 140/5, giving them a lead of 211 at a ground where a fourth-innings total of more than 200 has only been chased down successfully once.

Van der Dussen (45) contributed just under a third of SA's second innings before being prised out by Neil Wagner.

SCORECARD | New Zealand v South Africa, Second Test, Day Three

However, he and Temba Bavuma (23) had rescued SA from 38/3 after Tim Southee and Matt Henry bowled well up-front for the hosts.

SA's knocks in the second Test have seen them more than double their first Test match tally of 206, while also keeping New Zealand in the field for 186 overs as compared to the 91 of the limp first Test display.

Van der Dussen hoped that their comeback in the Test speaks to how their resilience after their inexplicably poor showing in the first Test.

"I would hope it speaks a lot about the character of the team," Van der Dussen said.

"The first Test was very disappointing for us and we did say we weren't quite sure as to what went wrong.

"We prepared well and knew what we had coming into the Test from a conditions perspective. We didn't change much from a preparation perspective."

While the pitch has played far differently in the second Test as compared to the first, Van der Dussen said the time between the Tests has allowed them to acclimatise better.

In the first Test that SA lost by an innings and 276 runs, the batters were all at sea while the bowlers were not sure of the best lengths to bowl.

While the Colin de Grandhomme/Daryl Mitchell partnership derailed the visitors, Van der