Phehlukwayo and his teammates are bracing for a robust response from the Australians to their six-wicket hammering in the one-day series opener in Perth.

"Any unit, any team, goes through bad patches," Phehlukwayo told reporters on Wednesday, ahead of game two on Friday at Adelaide Oval.

"I think it's just a stage ... Australia is probably a really good unit, their cricket culture is really good.

"I don't take anything from it ... they will come back strong."

Phehlukwayo was the unheralded chief destroyer of Australia's batting in Perth, where the hosts crumbled to 152 all out.

The medium pacer took 3-33, taking three consecutive wickets in three consecutive overs on a juicy Perth pitch.

"With the assistance of the wicket, the frontline seamers did well to put pressure on the top order batters ... I was lucky," Phehlukwayo said.

The 22-year-old deflected any credit to Proteas pacemen Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, saying he was privileged to bowl with them.

"If I look around and you're looking at Steyn, you're looking at Rabada ... they force you to be at the level they're at," he said.

"And that's a good thing in a team environment

"Any seam attack, if any individual had to come and bowl with those guys, they would learn a hell of a lot.

"They have got a lot of experience, a lot of talent and a lot of things up their sleeves.

"It's always good to be bowling in tandem with those guys and you learn a lot off them."

Australian Associated Press