South Africa have made two changes to their side for the second Test starting on Thursday, with spinner Imran Tahir and batsman Faf du Plessis called up to face Australia.

Tahir replaces fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt and du Plessis comes in for JP Duminy, who was ruled out of the series during the Brisbane Test when he snapped his Achilles in a training drill.

Proteas’ captain Graeme Smith said legspinner Tahir was a logical choice on the dry Adelaide wicket and predicted him to play a big role as the Test went on.

Plessis also bowls leg-breaks and Smith said he would be used as a part-time option during the match.

Smith denied the first Test in Brisbane was a points victory for Australia, saying the match was a draw for both teams.

The skipper also believed pre-match talk about sledging was overblown and that the verbal rivalry between the two teams wasn’t “that big of an issue”.

South Africa are the No.1 team in the world and Smith believes the higher expectations on his team was a good thing.

“For us, the great thing is there’s respect about our performance,” Smith said.

“The disappointment of a draw is a good thing for us – it shows that people expect us to play well. The No.1 ranking is about us performing for a long period of time.”

South Africa: Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Faf du Plessis, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel.