Australia went 1-0 up in the three-Test series on Sunday as 34 wickets tumbled in six sessions of play.
South Africa captain Dean Elgar slammed the pitch as dangerous and said he asked the umpires how much longer the match should go until it was deemed unsafe.
"I don't think it was a very good Test wicket," Elgar said.
"I did ask the umpires when KG (Kagiso Rabada) got (Travis) Head out down leg.
"I said, 'How long does it go on for until it potentially is unsafe?'. (Anrich) Nortje was bowling those short ones that were flying over our heads.
"I know the game was dead and buried. It was never to try and change (the result) or to put a halt to the game."
The last time Australia won a Test in less than two days was in 2002 when Steve Waugh's team dismissed Pakistan for 59 and 53 in Sharjah.
The only previous two-day Test played in Australia was in 1931 when the hosts beat West Indies by an innings in Melbourne.
The Gabba pitch is sure to be thoroughly reviewed by the ICC, with "disappointed" curator David Sandurski admitting fault for how the pitch was prepared.
Sandurski said it was not good enough for a Test match.
"No-one wants to have a two day Test," he told News Corp.
"All the signs in the preparation pointed towards it being a reasonable wicket.
"But having said that, I have been around for a long time and I have to be better than that as well. I have to own that."
Australia captain Pat Cummins was bemused with Elgar's assessment but said a two-day Test "probably isn't ideal".
"If you're going to lose the match, you'd probably try anything, wouldn't you?" Cummins said.
"It was fine. There was some sideways movement, a little bit of up and down bounce.
"It was certainly tricky."
26°C