Calcutta: The CCTV footage from the players tunnel at Kingsmead in Durban revealed Australia vice-captain David Warner and South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock being involved in a heated exchange at tea on the penultimate day of the first Test.

After two sessions of intense cricket, during which Warner was at the centre of an exuberant celebration following the dismissal of AB de Villiers, emotions appeared to boil over as the players headed towards their respective dressing rooms.

The leaked footage shows that on the staircase leading to the dressing rooms, Warner looked to be aggressively directing his words to De Kock and had to be held back by Usman Khawaja. The situation threatened to turn worse till wicketkeeper Tim Paine and Nathan Lyon restrained Warner, before he was ushered away from the scene by captain Steve Smith.

The South Africans are waiting for any further communication on the matter from the ICC. "It's rather unfortunate that the incident took place and certainly not in the spirit of the game.

"The match referee had spoken to us after the day's play. We will await any further communication from the ICC around this incident," read a statement from Proteas team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee.

Warner and De Kock, though, shook hands at the end of the Test. A Cricket Australia (CA) spokesperson later said that both team managers, Moosajee and Gavin Dovey, had been spoken to by match referee Jeff Crowe about the need for the two teams to calm down.

"The incident was discussed between the two team managers and the match referee last night (Sunday) and it is now in the hands of the on-field umpires and the match referee," said the spokesperson. "Both teams were reminded by the match referee of the spirit in which the game should be played."

In the wake of the staircase incident that overshadowed Australia's convincing 118-run victory in the first Test, Smith denied his players got personal on the field despite claims from the Proteas' camp that both sides crossed the line.

Fronting the media after the conclusion of the Test, Smith said he wasn't aware of any sledging from his players that got personal, his counterpart Faf du Plessis claimed that both teams had committed the crime.

According to the CA website, the incident was allegedly sparked by De Kock making derogatory comments about Warner's wife Candice, which Smith said amounted to crossing the line.

"What was said and done during that interval was regrettable on both sides. Obviously, Quinton got quite personal and provoked an emotional response from David.

"I think those things are not on from both sides. Getting personal on the field is not on... That's crossing the line in my opinion," Smith told reporters in Durban.

Du Plessis said he was unsure about who started the incident, but was disappointed that the animosity between the two teams spread off the field as well. "Who started it, I don't know. The fact that it spilled over off the field shouldn't have happened," the South Africa skipper commented.